Animal I Have Become
by Ravasz
Summary: Violent and hellbent on revenge, the Rangers can't decide if a quiet, feral stranger is an ally or a threat. Tommy and Hayley aren't together, just two main characters other than my OC. Rated M to cover my ass for violence and language.
1. A Whole New Animal

AN: This probably won't follow PRDT continuity much, but the purpose of this is to develop my new character. Please review!

* * *

The Cyberspace was packed as usual. Haley and Trent were rushing to meet the demands of their young, borderline hostile patrons. Cassidy seemed to beckon every ten seconds or so, asking whether her overly complicated coffee was ready.

"If she wasn't a girl, I would smack her so hard…" Trent muttered under his breath.

Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Dr. Oliver stood at the far corner of the bar, casually chatting. Dr. Oliver was deep in thought while Kira was attempting to explain to Conner the finer points of respecting women, instead of treating them as objects or just something pretty to look at. Conner's mind of course drifted, as did his eyes, to a hot blonde sitting on the couch across the room.

"You know what, guys," Ethan interrupted, "Mesogog and his goons haven't shown their faces in a whole 72 hours."

"Now why would you go and say something like that?" Conner responded.

"What do you mean?"

"He means that every time you say something along those lines, people fall out of the sky, monsters appear, and several other things have happened. You're like a big jinx," explained Kira.

"No way! How many times has that actually happened?"

"Six," the others said in unison.

"Hey, one of those times saved your life, Kira."

"That was nothing but a coincidence, and you know it."

"Whatever. You know what? We've been talking about this for…like five minutes, and nothing's happened. I just debunked your theory," Ethan said with an overly confident expression on his face.

Kira opened her mouth to continue the argument with Ethan, but no sound came out. Only a gasp left her vocal chords when she saw Zeltrax and an unknown figure crash through the front windows, flying over several teenagers sitting on the couches by the window including Conner's new love interest. The two landed on the wooden floor near the center of the café, ripping up several planks as they skidded to a halt. The customers of the Cyberspace fled in a panic, all of the civilians had left excluding Haley of course, she ran across the bar to join the Rangers.

The stranger quickly leapt off of Zeltrax, standing at his side, looking down on him with disgust, rage shining bright in his eyes. Across the room, the Rangers were speechless, even Dr. Oliver. They couldn't fathom how a normal civilian such as the man standing over Zeltrax was capable of doing anything like this, especially incapacitating him. The closer they looked, however, the more they saw this man was in no way ordinary. The man snarled, exposing some of his teeth, his canines were inordinately long, almost like fangs. Zeltrax rolled over onto his stomach, about to attempt to stand after being tackled through the wall of glass. He grabbed Zeltrax by the back of his armor with one hand, then flung him up through the ceiling like it was nothing. Zeltrax created a second hole several feet from the other in the ceiling when he fell and landed on a table near the windows they entered through. The table easily collapsed from his weight and the sheer force to which he was thrown.

The man whipped around in order to face Zeltrax. He stood firm, his long black jacket swayed from the light breeze coming in through the once wall of glass. His hands were slightly away from his sides and the Rangers noticed that the man had abnormally pointed fingernails. When Zeltrax arose, like an instinct, the man's fingernails extended to form what seemed to be claws and he lightly crouched, like an animal ready to strike.

Zeltrax shot a bolt of lightning from his sword toward the animalistic stranger. "Look out!" Kira screamed. Though before her mouth opened, the man leaped and flipped backward, bringing his left hand to the ground, using his claws to bring him to a stop on all fours, leaving claw marks several feet long in the already damaged wood floor. The man let out a powerful, deafening roar that resembled that of a lion. The roar itself not only caused Zeltrax to freeze, but the jaws of the Rangers immediately dropped to the floor. They couldn't believe what just erupted from the stranger's mouth.

He then leapt forward with both arms extended, launching into a run on all fours. He drifted to the left toward the wall, then advanced onto it, taking two big leaps while marginally gaining height. He jumped from the wall to one of the holes he made in the ceiling, swung from it, then plunged down to Zeltrax, both arms raised to his right. As he came down, he slashed diagonally across Zeltrax's chest, causing him to blunder backward about ten feet. There were ten deep gashes visible in Zeltrax's armor, a few of which had obviously gotten through to whatever was really under there. Next, the man effortlessly leapt forward again with his arms straight out, but instead of starting into a run, he used his hands as leverage to flip and powerfully kick Zeltrax out of the café, landing once again on all fours. Zeltrax flew all the way out where the windows used to be, back to the wall opposite of the Cyberspace, cracking it significantly. An invisiportal quickly materialized and swallowed him, returning him to his precious master to report his failure.

The stranger nonchalantly rose to his feet once again. He retracted his claws, cracked his neck, and uttered a low growl. Through the entire battle, Zeltrax hadn't managed to leave a mark anywhere on him, a triumph in itself, even more so for a man who wasn't a Ranger. He wandered over to the bar and placed both hands on the counter, attempting to catch his breath. He glanced to his right and found an unopened soda bottle a few inches away. He used the claw on his left thumb to easily pry off the cap. The Rangers could do nothing but stare in awe. What could they possibly say to this man? If he was a man at all.

After chugging the entire bottle of soda, he set the bottle down with a loud thump. He sniffed the air, then smirked. His gaze shifted to his right for less than a second, then back forward. He began to twirl the empty glass bottle on the counter in a playful manner.

"You know, if you keep staring at me like that, Rangers, you'll end up like Zeltrax over there," he finally said, gesturing toward the alley, "probably worse," he added with another smirk. His voice was deep, and his tone suggested he was fully prepared to act upon his threat.

The fact that the stranger addressed the Rangers directly snapped them out of the trance they slipped into while watching the events of the past few minutes. "Wait a sec, how do you know we're Rangers?" Kira asked abruptly.

The man just simply chuckled and turned toward the group. "It's a bit obvious isn't it? With you wearing the Dino Gems out in the open on your wrists like that."

"How do you know so much about us and the gems?" Dr. Oliver interjected. The others had never seen Dr. Oliver this serious before.

"I know a lot of things, Dr. Oliver. You'd be surprised to learn how much." He swiftly turned around, jumped up toward the ceiling. He used his claws to attach himself to the ceiling so he had leverage to swing up and out of one of the holes. There was no sign of him after that.

"Who the hell was that?" Conner exclaimed.

"More like what was that…that guy couldn't have been human. What are you thinking, Dr. O? Do you think he has a gem? That might have been why he knew so much," Kira asked.

Dr. Oliver ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration and utter confusion. "I have no idea, Kira. He wasn't human, at least not fully. I'm not sure to whether if he has a gem. The gems give those who are chosen powers, sure, but I've never seen a gem cause a physical transformation like that before."

"Yeah, he had fangs, claws, the whole nine yards." Ethan was silent for a minute or so, then a eureka moment developed in his mind and showed on his face as if something surprised him. "I got it! I know what he is!"

"Had an epiphany there, did you?" Trent remarked sarcastically.

"Shut up and let me get this out there. A sabretooth tiger. It explains everything!"

"That's a pretty big conclusion to jump to, Ethan," Hayley replied.

"Look guys, stay with me here. The retractable claws, extra long canine teeth, always landing on all fours, the roaring. You can't tell me that he didn't sound like a lion or a tiger or something like that. It also explains his hair color and facial hair."

"What does his facial hair have to do with anything?" Kira inquired.

"Have you ever seen a picture of a sabretooth? On the side of their faces they have those tufts of extra hair, that on a man would like the mutton chop-like deal that guy has going on. Don't forget the color of his hair. It's a weird dirty blonde color, the same color as a sabretooth's would be, but that might just be a coincidence."

"Are you hearing this, Dr. O?" Conner asked. He was in as much disbelief as the others were. "This sounds completely insane, doesn't it?"

"I actually think Ethan is onto something. It makes perfect sense now that it's been put into perspective. If Ethan's theory is the case, and he does have a gem, then he'll show up on our scanners. He's way too powerful not to."


	2. Predator

AN: Be wary of the violent content ahead. The stranger takes out a monster in a very grotesque manner. Please review!

If you were wondering where I got the name of the monster from, Aquila is Latin for eagle. Nice little fun fact for you.

* * *

Dr. Oliver descended the stairs entering his underground lab to find Hayley working tirelessly at the computer with something different on every monitor. They ranged from several scanners to research. With it being so early in the morning, Dr. Oliver was surprised that she was even down here.

"Hayley, how long have you been down here?"

"Oh, hey, Tommy. What time is it?"

"About quarter 'til 9," he replied, checking his watch.

"I guess I've been down here all night then. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be. Have you spent all this time looking for him?"

"In a way, yes. I created a new provisional scanning system that will hopefully find him faster. His energy is very distinctive from anything we've seen before. It's similar to a gem's energy pattern, but there's something off about it. I've also been doing some reading on actual sabretooth tigers. I knew they weren't in your exact area of expertise."

"Hopefully your new system can find him soon, we have no idea what he's fully capable of. What have you found out so far?"

"Well as you know, they lived mostly during the Ice Age, but they first popped up around 25 million years ago. They're related more to the modern lion more than the tiger, it just got the name from its appearance. Their maxillary canines could grow up to seven inches long. Though agile as they were, modern big cats are more so, but they can't match a sabretooth's strength. They used their upper bodies to take down their prey, then use their teeth to puncture the jugular vein or cut the trachea, and would often stalk their prey before killing it."

"Well we've definitely seen this guy implement that practice. Putting his enemies to the ground seems to be his favorite tactic."

"It's probably just his first instinct."

"Probably. Ethan was right about what he is, but now the real question is how did he get this way? This transformation of his is in no way natural."

"That's going to have to wait, Tommy. Zeltrax is downtown, and he brought a new friend."

"I'll call the others," he said, backing up a few steps. "Rangers, there's trouble downtown, morph and meet me there."

"Sure thing, Dr. O," Conner replied.

"Dino Thunder, power up!" Dr. Oliver bellowed.

* * *

Mesogog's latest mutant creation stood beside Zeltrax, ready for battle. It was a hideous mixture, the most prominent beast being an eagle with its wings, talons, and beak. Not only did the Rangers have these two to contend with, but Zeltrax had predictably brought along his trusty Tyrannodrones. They took no time to surround them, but the Rangers tried to focus on the real problem, the mutant. It was devouring a stray civilian it had picked up a few moments earlier. As usual, the Tyrannodrones were barely any trouble, just a nuisance to the Rangers. The real challenge faced them when Zeltrax and Aquila, as he called it, entered the scramble.

Zeltrax being as vengeful as ever, headed straight in Dr. Oliver's direction. He was too focused on Aquila digging its claws into Kira, to concentrate on Zeltrax who was able to get an early hit in. Zeltrax's boot pummeled into his chest, he felt at least one of his ribs snap and winced in pain behind his helmet, trying not to let Zeltrax hear it. He struck back full force with his staff, creating sparks as it sliced across Zeltrax's armor. Zeltrax grabbed Dr. Oliver by the throat, squeezing hard, then flinging him backward toward the other Rangers.

Aquila took flight, heading into the Rangers' direction. They attempted to prepare for the attack or to at least strike back, but it was too fast. It sliced a line through the Rangers with its talons, piercing deep, causing all of them to unmorph immediately and collapse to the ground. All of them were clutching their chests.

"Is anyone bleeding?" Dr. Oliver desperately asked, barely able to speak himself.

"Yeah, a little, it isn't that bad though," Trent softly replied.

Dr. Oliver was miraculously able to get on his knees in an attempt to stand, but couldn't get up any further. He could distinctively hear a roar in the background, but was unable to see the source, though in the back of his mind, he knew what it was. The stranger hastily came toward the fight at a run, and stopped in front of Zeltrax. The man threw an unsparing right cross to Zeltrax's helmet, but when he tried to counter, the stranger caught his fist and used Zeltrax's power against him, pushing down hard until the cyborg kneeled. With a snicker, the man forcefully turned Zeltrax around as well as grabbed his other arm and placing his foot in the middle of his back. While pushing with his foot, he pulled as intensely as possible on Zeltrax's arms, causing the shoulders to dislocate from the torso, armor to split, and wires to disconnect and spark. The man let go when a loud snap was heard, and Zeltrax was finally still.

With a low growl, the man turned toward Aquila. He ran on only two feet this time straight at it. Aquila lightly hurdled over him, but that's exactly what he was anticipating. He put his claws to the ground and lowered himself in order to stop and pivot around quickly. He promptly extended his claws and instantly swung both arms straight down, cutting off the beast's wings. Aquila screamed in agony as the man slowly walked around to face him.

The stranger grinned, his canines exposed in a threatening manner. He violently upper cut Aquila, sending him flying through the air. He vaulted into the air, following suit, gaining a bit of height above the mutant in order to finish him. He drove his right hand's still extended claws into Aquila's chest, twisting on the way down to the Earth. Upon impact, the two of them created a small crater in the concrete, the man landing firmly with one knee on the ground. He dug deeper into the beast's chest, eventually reaching his accelerated heart. Without hesitation, he ripped the heart out while it was still beating, blood spurting in every direction, to ensure Aquila was truly dead. The man stood up slowly, the heart still in his hand. As he was staring at it, his eyes flashed yellow, almost an amber color. Realizing this, he quickly threw the heart down, blood still dripping down his hand.

The Rangers were capable of getting up now, several minutes had past, but that time was consumed by watching the spectacle that played out before them. He turned toward the Rangers once again, but this time with a snarl.

"Please tell me you guys saw that…" Ethan whispered.

"You mean did I see that guy practically rip Zeltrax's arms off, slice the monster's wings off, then ripping out its heart, then yeah, that's exactly what I saw," Kira responded quietly.

"I can hear everything you're saying, you know. I can hear things from over a mile away, do you really think I can't hear you whispering ten feet away?" he said deeply, taking a few steps forward. "What did I tell you about staring?"

"What the fuck was that? What kind of shit are you trying to pull here?" Conner shouted.

"Conner…calm down." Dr. Oliver said in an authoritative tone.

"Excuse me?" the man said, coming even closer.

"How can you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just rip it to shreds like that. You tore out that thing's heart while it was still alive!"

"Is what you do any more humane? You blow them to smitherines, how painful do you think that is? Besides, I saved you the trouble of fighting a giant, nastier version of that beast. You already got your asses handed to you, I figured I'd save you the trouble," the stranger said with another smirk.

"Wait a minute, that's really strange…why didn't it grow?" Ethan asked.

"When you destroy them, you simply separate them into several pieces, but if put back together they would all still work. Mesogog uses the Hydro Regenerator to pick up the pieces and the special solution makes them grow. I trashed the heart so there's no way it can get back up again, not even with the machine."

"Dude, how the hell do you know so much about this?" Conner questioned.

The man quickly stepped forward and came to a halt in front of Conner. He grabbed Conner by the throat and picked him up with the hand that wasn't saturated in mutant blood. He extended his claws so that his grip nearly circled Conner's entire neck. "Look, kid, if you're going to talk to me, unwise mind you, you'll do it with respect, got it?" He brought Conner closer to his face, still raising him in the air. "Like I said before, I just know these things. It's none of your concern how I do." At the last word, he dropped Conner, him being unprepared, he fell straight to the ground. "Rookies like you are the cause of my problems," he muttered while walking away.

"Conner, are you all right? Wait!" Dr. Oliver exclaimed.

"What do you want, Oliver?"

"I think you should come with us."

"Where, to your lab? Why would I do something like that?"

Dr. Oliver sighed. "Your methods are…questionable to say the least, but we could really use your help. Whatever you know about Mesogog, we need to know too."

"And what would I get out of this deal you're proposing?"

"You'd be helping to save the world, no matter how corny it may sound."

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that before," he paused. "I'll think about it. When I reach a decision, I'll find you."

"How?"

The man chuckled. "With a scent that strong, I won't have any trouble hunting you down."

"That's not creepy or foreboding at all…" Ethan muttered.

The man growled, then turned and walked to a nearby building. He leapt and used his claws to easily ascend the side of the skyscraper, up to the roof. He soared from building to building, disappearing into the skyline.


	3. Cain

AN: Forgot to say this in the other chapters, but I do not own the Power Rangers, just my character. I'm new to this, so don't kill me.

If you find the introduction or explanation of the stranger awkward, don't worry, it was awkward writing it too. Please review!

* * *

Hayley and the Rangers walked through the front door of Dr. Oliver's house after Kira's latest gig at the Cyberspace. The door was unlocked as usual, as cautious as he was, Dr. Oliver never got into the habit of locking it. Though no neighbors are within miles of the house, Hayley always gives him grief about his lack of safety for his home.

"You guys want something to eat? I know it's close to dinner time. Is anyone expected home?" Dr. Oliver shouted from the kitchen.

"It's Friday night, Dr. O., we're good. My parents don't expect me home anytime soon," Conner replied.

"Me too," Kira and Ethan reiterated a few seconds later.

"My dad wants me home around ten," Trent said, finally entering the house after talking on the phone with Anton outside.

"Good. Now what about food? I know I'm starving. Does anyone want Chinese? I think I get a discount if I order a certain amount."

"Tommy, how many times have you ordered in this week?" Hayley asked, concern weighing down her voice.

"I don't see how that's relevant," Dr. Oliver said with an innocent smile.

"You can't just live off of Chinese food."

"I'm not, I swear. The Italian place on 9th Avenue also delivers."

Hayley didn't even bother to respond, she just smacked Dr. Oliver upside the head and headed into the kitchen. "I'm making you some actual dinner. I'll get a pot of water on the stove so it'll come to a boil, then I'll go from there. Until it boils I'm going down to the lab to check on a few things."

"Thanks, Hayley, you're the best," he said giving her a hug.

"That was an awesome set tonight, Kira," Trent complimented.

"Yeah, I really got into that song. Nice hook too," agreed Ethan.

"Thanks, guys. I've been working on that song for a while, but it just never seemed finished to me. Then again, most songs don't, but—"

"Tommy! You _really_ need to come down here!" Hayley shouted from below. The Rangers scrambled to get down the stairs with Dr. Oliver leading the way; he practically jumped down the second set of steps.

Casually sitting in the computer chair eating, was none other than the stranger that had been stalking the Rangers for the past couple days. "Surprise?" he asked sarcastically after he finished chewing his previous bite.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Dr. Oliver asked angrily, his voice raised.

"Through the front door of course."

Dr. Oliver was trying to calm himself, but it was difficult when the man was eating off of one of his plates and using his silverware. "Fine, but how did you find my house, much less the lab?"

"Like I said, Dr. Oliver, I have a very keen sense of smell. I followed your scent trail out here. I noticed at least five other people besides you have touched the jaw of the mini Tyrannosaurus statue on the table upstairs, a very odd choice, I might add. Then again, look where it got me. Very strange cave you have here, Batman." Ethan couldn't help but laugh. Dr. Oliver gave him a stern look and he immediately stopped. The man snickered, then cut into the meat on his plate, taking another bite.

"Is that steak even cooked? It looks really pink, maybe even red," asked Kira. The very thought of eating raw meat made her stomach churn.

"It's completely raw, but I prefer it that way now. That should be no surprise to you," he said with yet another smirk, this time exposing his teeth so his canines would show.

"Now? You weren't always like this were you?" Hayley inquired.

The stranger calmly put his food on the desk and sighed deeply. "No, I wasn't born this way. It seems like an eternity that I have been though. If you were wondering, Oliver, I've come to a decision, which is why I came here. I'd like to make a deal with you."

"What deal would that be?"

"I'll help whenever I can, and I'll tell you everything I know, but you have to promise me something."

"What?"

The man closed his eyes and ran his hand though his hair. When he opened them, his eyes flashed yellow again. "That you'll stay out of my way."

Dr. Oliver looked back to Hayley, then to his Rangers, and finally back to the stranger. He hesitantly put his hand forward, to shake the man's hand. "Deal."

The stranger's hand quickly came forward to take Dr. Oliver's. "Deal," he repeated with a wicked smile. After letting go, he sniffed the air a few times, a look of disgust plastered his face. "Hayley, your water has boiled over onto the burner. It smells horrible. Tommy's last dinner is burnt onto the coils. Some kind of stew if my nose isn't lying to me."

"Shit," she swore under her breath as she hurriedly ran up the stairs to clean up the mess.

"Wow, you're better than a fire alarm," Ethan said with a smirk.

The man simply smiled. "This nose does have its uses. Like how I know Dr. Oliver lied to Hayley. He's had food delivered all week. Last night he had chicken parmesan from the Italian place on ninth."

Dr. Oliver's eyes widened. "Impressive."

"So we never really caught your name…" Kira said, changing the subject.

"I didn't give it," the man retorted immediately. He could see the fear that flashed in Kira's eyes. "Sorry. You can call me Cain."

"Like the one from the Bible?"

He nodded. "The very same."

"That's strange. How do we know that's you're real name?" Conner asked, he suspected Cain was trying to hide who he really was. He wondered what could be worse than this though.

"You don't, but I have no reason to lie to you."

Hayley came back down the stairs a few moments later with the same disgusted look Cain displayed earlier. "He was right Tommy, that was disgusting. Why didn't you clean that up?"

"Something else needed my attention."

"Sure it did. Cain was it? You're a lifesaver."

"Cain," Dr. Oliver interrupted, "I can tell you're not a fan of personal questions, but this is one we need to know. Do you have a gem?"

The others stared in anticipation of his answer. "In a matter of speaking, yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Long, complicated story."

"We got time."

Cain gave another deep sigh. "I was one of Mesogog's experiments. He found a gem in the La Brea Tar Pit before he arrived in Reefside. He knew Dr. Oliver had gems of his own, and that he would eventually find Rangers for them. Mesogog wanted to create something more powerful than a Ranger. Something that could harness more of the gem's power, rather than be limited by it."

"As you know, every Dino Gem has a DNA strand from the creature it represents, and the gem itself has power as well. He abducted me over a year ago. He said I was the 'perfect candidate' for his experiment, not that I had any choice in the matter. The only way he was able to get me to his lab was for Zeltrax to repetitively electrocute me so I would pass out."

"I can see why you hate him so much," Kira commented.

Cain raised his eyebrows in agreement. "Yeah, well, it's nothing compared to what Mesogog did, trust me."

"What exactly did he do? I'm trying to figure out the possibilities and I can't come up with anything that would do this to someone," Hayley said, still trying to think.

"He extracted the DNA from the gem, synthesized it so it could be transferred, then spliced it with my own DNA. It didn't bond directly with mine, but instead created another helix. Triple helix DNA has only been found in mutations and bacteria before now. He also…well it'd be easier to show you this part." Cain pulled out a syringe from his pocket along with some rope and a glass slide.

"Where did you get a syringe from?" Hayley asked in a weak voice.

"Stopped by the hospital earlier and swiped it. For this purpose actually." He used the rope to tie a tight knot above his elbow and secured it with the assistance of his other hand and teeth. He pulled the cap of the needle off with his teeth as well. While clenching his fist he stuck the needle into his raised vein, extracting a fair amount of blood. Cain slowly took out the needle, then he sliced the rope on his arm with one of his claws. He then placed a few drops of his blood onto the glass slide, closed it, then inserted it into a slot in the computer. A magnified look at the blood appeared on one of the screens.

"What are those little rock pieces floating around in there?" asked Conner.

"Shards…" Cain replied softly.

"Of what?"

Cain eyed Dr. Oliver, then quickly looked away. "It's the gem isn't it?" he asked.

"Even after the DNA bonded with me, the gem still glowed. There was no explanation for it. For safe measure, Mesogog carefully crushed the gem into thousands of shards and injected them directly into my bloodstream. A few minutes after both operations, I could feel everything in my body changing. My original canine teeth fell out, to be painfully replaced by the ones I have now. My nails fell out, claws took their place. My bones and organs were rearranging. I could hear and smell everything. My vision changed. I tried to scream but only a roar came out. It was the worst pain I've ever felt. No words can fully describe it." He fell silent.

"Oh my god, that's horrible." Hayley said lightly.

A low, quiet growl left Cain's mouth. "One good thing did come of it though. I broke through my restraints and nearly took Mesogog's head off. The reason I couldn't finish it then and there was because Zeltrax and Elsa zapped me simultaneously, sending me flying across the room, then Elsa drugged me. I few hours later I woke up in a giant cage."

"How long were you on Mesogog's island captive?" Dr. Oliver asked.

"Up until a few days ago."

"What happened between the experiment and you crashing into the Cyberspace?"

"Torture, attempted mind control, Mesogog's usual M.O. It went on for months, but I was finally able to escape."

"How did you do it?"

"Zeltrax may be powerful, but he's easily tricked. I provoked a fight with him when he came to my cell to bring me to Mesogog's lab. He swung a punch too hard, missed me and his hand slipped through a couple of the steel bars. I quickly bent them so his arm couldn't get out, and locked him in the cage behind me. Used the invisiportal network and I found myself in Reefside, soon to be pursued of course."

"What were you doing before you were nabbed by Mesogog's goons in the first place? Where were you?" questioned Conner.

"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"I rarely do."

"Alright then. I see you ditched the creepy black coat."

Cain laughed. "Yeah, I had to burn it. There was blood all over it. It wasn't even mine, so I never really got attached. The pasta is done cooking, Hayley."

"The timer hasn't even gone off yet." Ding! "Damn, you're good. Did you want some dinner?"

"No thanks, I have my steak."

"Where did you get that t-bone anyway?"

"You really don't want to know."

"You're right, I probably don't. Do you want something that's actually cooked?"

"Thank you, Hayley, but this is fine."


	4. Chemistry

AN: I don't own PRDT, just Cain.

Just so you know, the information in this chapter does lead to somewhere bigger and better, so don't ask what I mean by all of it. You'll find out soon enough. Please review!

* * *

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you have a place of your own or if you live down here," a voice said when the stone door leading from the forest opened.

"It can sometimes feel that way," Hayley replied, not even looking away from the screen.

"It's the middle of the day, shouldn't you have somewhere to be? I haven't seen the others all day."

"Tommy and the other Rangers are at school. The Cyberspace is under construction thanks to you, Cain," she said, finally glancing away from the monitors to give him a stern look.

"I apologized and offered to pay for damages, don't give me that."

"I know, I'm sorry, I've just been caught up in all this lately…There are spots all over your shirt. Is that blood?"

"What? Of course not."

"Cain…"

He gave a wicked smile. "Don't worry, it's not mine, nor is it human. Nothing to worry about."

"I'm not even going to ask, but you really need to break the habit of coming here with blood all over you."

"I'll try my best," he said with a short chuckle. "What's that?" Cain asked, pointing to the weapon on the table beside Hayley.

"Oh, that's Conner's blaster. The power source blew out, and even before that, the laser was defocussing."

"Isn't that called blooming? What power source did you use?"

"Yes, blooming. How did you know? I developed a special nuclear battery that I thought would last, but it obviously didn't."

"Let's just say I was really interested in science as a kid. I don't believe the power source just died, it probably overheated. From what I can see it doesn't have anything sufficient enough to cool it down."

"I don't really see you as the science geek type. I used a cooling mechanism," she explained, pausing to take the gun apart, "but I was limited on space. The battery takes up most of the space, as does the parabolic mirror needed to concentrate the particle beam."

"I'm just full of surprises, Hayley. Have you ever considered chemical lasers? They're usually used for industrial uses like cutting through metal, but the military is developing them to be used as directed-energy weapons like the one you're holding. Chemical lasers can achieve continuous output reaching megawatt levels of power. Most are infrared, and use chemical reactions as the source of power."

"So you took a specific interest in chemistry, I see. If you know so much, why don't you build one," Hayley challenged.

"Chemistry and physics actually, I could never choose a favorite, though physics has more practical uses in most of society. If I can get a hold of the chemicals necessary, I'd be more than happy to," Cain smirked.

"And what chemicals would those be?"

"Let's see…I would need iodine, chlorine, hydrazoic acid, hydrogen peroxide, potassium peroxide, and nitrogen. Some of which I need the gaseous and molecular forms of." He paused to think, counting on his fingers and moving his mouth silently. "Yeah, that's all of them, just making sure I didn't forget."

"Out of curiosity, where did you learn all of this? Or is this another situation where I don't ask questions?"

"It's better if you don't know."

"Fair enough, for now at least. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Tommy and the others are training in the woods after school and he invited you to join them. He said it would be better if you just watch."

"Did he now? What time will they be here?"

"Well school ends about two, so you have over four more hours to kill."

"That's just great. What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way to keep yourself occupied, hopefully in a nonviolent manner."

"You're just trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"

"I would never say that. I'm merely suggesting you leave so I can get work done," Hayley said with a smile.

* * *

Trent and Conner were sparring in a small clearing in the forest surrounding Dr. Oliver's home. Kira and Ethan stood several feet away under a tree that Cain had settled himself in, playfully twirling a chicken bone between his fingers. Dr. Oliver was circling the fighting teens, shouting comments and corrections.

"Stay in motion, Trent! Keep your guard up! Conner, quit exposing your front to your opponent, try to keep to the side!"

"So all you guys do is spar out here?" Cain asked.

"Dr. O. had us do some survival stuff a few times, also some vehicle training," Ethan responded, looking up, seeing that Cain never tore his eyes away from the fight. "You can come down and join us, you know."

"It's been suggested that I merely watch and observe."

"Suggested by who?" Kira inquired, entering the conversation.

Cain moved his head, gesturing towards Dr. Oliver, his eyes still focused on Conner and Trent. "I believe he's afraid I'll kill one of you, even if we're just practicing."

"Can't really blame him," Ethan muttered.

He scoffed, "Contrary to popular belief, Ethan I can control myself to an extent. And yes, I can fight normally, I knew that would be your next concern. Tapping into my animalistic instincts in battle just seems to be more effective."

The fight finally came to a close when Conner dodged Trent's strike by ducking, then swinging a low kick, tripping Trent, sending him to the ground with a loud thump. "The dirt's a lot harder than it looks," he groaned as Conner offered his hand.

"Alright, that was good. Great job, Conner," Dr. Oliver said, patting Conner on the shoulder. "Better luck next time, Trent. Ethan, come on, you're up. Conner was the victor, so you'll be sparring him."

"I think Cain should have a go, actually. He promised to fight fair."

"You're a horrible liar, kid."

"He lied saying that you would fight fair?" Dr. Oliver asked in a condescending tone.

"Not quite. I said I had the ability to fight as you do, but not that I would. I also mentioned that you would prefer if I just watch. Besides, I would hardly consider it a fair fight."

"Why wouldn't it be fair? Do you think you're a better fighter than I am?"

Cain rolled his eyes, then dropped from his branch and landing on his feet. "I have nothing to prove to anyone, especially you."

"We'll see about that," Conner threatened, quickly shifting to a fighting stance, fists raised to slightly below his eye level.

"Damn," Cain mouthed. He glanced over to Dr. Oliver who gave him a reluctant nod of approval. Cain moved closer, stopping a few feet away from Conner and turned slightly to the side. With open hands, he raised them up to his chest, taking a deep breath in, then lowered them while exhaling. Cain swiftly transitioned into a modified fugal stance, his left foot forward, pointing straight, his right to the side, heels parallel, and knees moderately bent. Instead of open hands in front and at his waist, both hands were in a tiger claw position, one palm facing the ground and the other at shoulder level with the palm facing forward in Conner's direction. His eyes had a cold look to them, even more so than usual.

"Conner is so screwed…" Ethan said in a low voice.

"Completely screwed," Kira concurred.

"Your move, Red," Cain growled.

Conner let out a deep sigh, jumped forward, thrusting a front kick that was immediately blocked by Cain, who threw a quick, hard blow to Conner's left ribs, causing him to stumble back a few steps. Several punches came Cain's way, all effortlessly blocked and countered, while still keeping his form. Conner vaulted into the air with a spinning kick that Cain evaded by simply rolling out of the way, then swept Conner's feet right out from beneath him. He quickly sprung up, attempted to strike Cain, only to be caught in an arm lock. Before he had the chance to use his other hand to counter or escape, Cain struck Conner with his palm just below his lungs while releasing his lock, sending Conner flying back into a nearby tree and knocking the breath out of him. He launched himself toward Cain with a flying kick, but Cain leapt over him, kicked off the tree, and came back with a right cross to Conner's face, almost dislocating his jaw, he then landed a few feet away, assuming his stance yet again, this time, facing to the right. Cain cross-stepped to the side, then used his back leg for a high side kick at full force, which miraculously stopped at the tip of Conner's nose. His eyes widened, and he let out a deep sigh, but Cain had a fiendish grin plastered on his face. Cain flipped around, using the same leg to land a powerful kick to Conner's left kidney, sending him immediately to his knees and then the ground, grunting in pain.

"Tommy was right, you really shouldn't expose yourself so much to your enemy," he chuckled, turning away and walking back to the others.

"C'mon, Conner, get up," Dr. Oliver encouraged while pulling him up and walking him over back to the tree. "So Cain, what degree are you?"

"Fifth," he smiled. "How could you tell?"

"Your technique and form was perfect. No amateur could pull that off."

"Fifth degree of what?" Conner asked weakly.

"No way," Ethan interjected, "you're a black belt, Cain?"

"My father insisted I train when I was a kid."

"You've got to be kidding…why didn't you say anything?"

"I figured if you had the balls to blindly challenge me like that, you should suffer the consequences. Those consequences of course being four bruised ribs, a nearly broken jaw, and close to a ruptured kidney. You should consider yourself lucky, I could have done a lot more damage."

"Lucky isn't exactly the word I would use," said Conner, clutching his torso.

"You'll be fine, trust me. I've had a lot worse."

Hayley decided to get some fresh air and join the others in the forest. Upon finding them, she saw Conner leaning over in pain, and automatically looked to Cain. "What did you do?"

"Why do you assume it was me?"

"Because it was," Conner muttered.

"He'll be fine, I promise."

"Conner challenged Cain to a fight, and ended up getting his ass kicked by a fifth degree black belt," Kira explained.

"You're a black belt too? What else can I discover about you today?"

"What are you talking about, Hayley?" Dr. Oliver asked.

"Cain and I were talking earlier, and found out he's a science whiz. He gave the exact materials to build a completely new laser weapon. An infrared chemical laser at that."

After an awkward silence and many blank stares, Cain tried explaining himself. "Chemistry and physics were my main interests in school. The martial arts were forced on me, but I learned to enjoy it."

"What are we going to find out next? That you're some kind of super spy like James Bond?" Ethan ranted.

"I assure you, I'm not a spy. And before you ask, I don't have a license to kill either, nothing along those lines." Ethan started to open his mouth again, but Cain spoke before any sound came out. "No, Ethan, I'm not Batman either.


	5. Broken

AN: Sorry it's been a while, I just started college. Please review!

I don't own PRDT.

* * *

With it being a Wednesday afternoon, Conner was at soccer practice and Ethan at an extended computer club meeting. Anton had Trent running errands which left Dr. Oliver, Hayley, Kira, and Cain in the lab. Hayley, as always was glued to the monitors of the elaborate computer system, with Dr. Oliver at her side. Kira sat comfortably in a corner strumming her guitar with a notepad at her feet. Cain found nothing better to than tinker with Conner's broken laser, a majority of the parts were scattered in several piles around where he sat, organized by their use. His attention was focused most on Hayley's battery she created specifically for the weapon.

"Hayley, what particular element did you use to make the battery? You said it was nuclear, but it doesn't seem to be comprised of any of the noble gases, which are the elements known to be radioactive."

After finishing a line of code on one of the monitors, she glanced over at Cain, seeing her precious work being ripped apart and studied. "I used radioactive hydrogen, also known as tritium or hydrogen-3."

"How did you get a hold of tritium? It's extremely rare and produced only in nuclear reactors by the neutron activation of lithium-6, when deuterium captures a neutron, or through fission. The only place it occurs naturally is in cosmic rays."

"You have your secrets, I have mine."

"Fair enough," he smirked, moving his attention to the firing system of the gun. A loud, screeching pop made Cain twitch, one of his ears began to ring.

"God damn it!" was all that could be made out from Kira's speech. She muttered other expletives that only Cain was able to hear, some of them making him laugh hysterically to himself. "Dr. O, can you give me a ride to town? I need to replace these strings by tomorrow."

"Sorry, Kira, I can't. Have Cain take you."

"On what, his back?" she asked sarcastically, obviously still infuriated.

"I was actually going to give him the keys to my Jeep," he said defensively, throwing the keys in Cain's general direction which were easily caught. While the pair were heading up the stairs, Dr. Oliver shouted, "Just don't hit anything!"

Cain was in no way surprised to find the doors of Dr. Oliver's Jeep unlocked, but without a roof there isn't really a need to. Having the privilege to drive a Jeep and the familiarity of it all made him smile. He walked to the passenger's side of the vehicle and opened Kira's door for her.

"Wow, I didn't know you were such a gentleman."

"It was pretty much embedded into my brain as a child," he replied while carefully shutting the door. Cain entered through the driver's side, and turned the key to start the ignition, another smile appearing on his face. Kira stared at him as if she was surprised he was capable of operating a car. "I know this may come as a surprise to you, but behind all this, I'm an adult, and I know how to do things like drive," he said while transitioning onto the highway.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just that you're still kind of a stranger to us. It's a little weird being in a car alone with you."

"Understandable I suppose."

"You look around Dr. O's age, so what are you, twenty-six, twenty-seven?"

"Twenty-eight, actually. Good guess though. So you're in a band, right? You any good?"

"I guess you'll just have to come to the Cyberspace and see me play. I have another gig there on Friday."

"I highly doubt Hayley will let me step foot in there ever again," he chuckled.

"Even if she doesn't, I assume your hearing is good enough that you'll be able to enjoy my set from the roof or the alley," Kira smiled. "You really knew what were you talking about with the laser and all, but I don't see you as the 'science guy' type."

"That's exactly what Hayley said. What type do you see me as then?"

"I don't know. You're smart and in great shape so I think you would do pretty well in the armed forces. My uncle is a general in the Marine Corps, so I know the type."

"Really? Well if I ever find myself having the desire to fight for my country, I'll be sure to come to you."

"Sounds like a plan."

The remainder of the ride was quiet, though Kira couldn't help but break the awkward silence every few minutes or so with some kind of trivial question. She learned that Cain had no siblings to speak of, something they actually had in common. Kira also found out that Cain's mother was a nurse at a Washington D.C. hospital, but when asked about his father or what he did for a living before the Rangers met him, he immediately fell silent and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Turn right at the next intersection, the Sam Ash is in the shopping plaza up there and there's a parking garage a little before that."

Cain said nothing, but did as he was told. He parked in the nearest open spot, which was unfortunately on the second floor of the garage. After taking the keys out of the ignition, he quickly got out to open Kira's door on the other side.

The plaza was comprised of several buildings surrounding a large courtyard with an elaborate fountain in the center. The Sam Ash that Kira was referring to was located on the far side of the plaza next to an outlet store. Cain once again opened the door for Kira, which she still wasn't quite used to.

Kira refused the help of the store clerk on account of she knew exactly what she was looking for. After coming to this store so many times for the same purpose, she took no time to grab the Elixir medium brass acoustic strings she always got, and made her way to the counter where Cain was waiting to pay for them. Until Kira reached the cashier, all the man could stare at were Cain's fingernails. As much as he hated being stared at, he wanted nothing more than to shove his claws into the employee's throat. With the security cameras and other witnesses around, he figured he shouldn't.

"So how badly did you want to kill the cashier?" Kira asked when the pair were outside and a safe distance away from the door.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't even try to deny it, I saw that look on your face. Given the opportunity, I guarantee you would have wasted him."

Cain gave a one-sided smile, "Yeah, you're right. Just don't tell Hayley, alright? She really wants me to get thoughts like that out of my head. Besides, if I came back to the lab with blood on me again, I think she would kill me."

"You know, I've always been afraid to ask, but why do you usually have blood on you?"

There was a slight pause before he answered. "I like my meat fresh if you catch my drift."

"Got it," she said, trying not to gag.

They continued through the courtyard almost in silence. Kira was looking down at her phone while walking and ran into Cain's arm that he stuck out to stop her from going further.

"What are you doing?"

"The temperature just spiked a few degrees."

"So? The weather changes all the time."

"Just wait," he smiled.

"For what?"

"An invisiportal is going to appear within a ten foot radius of here."

"How do you know?"

A group of at least fifty Tyrannodrones descended from a portal a few feet away, immediately splitting off to take on Cain and Kira separately. One of them leapt towards Cain, which he caught by the throat and slammed into the concrete. "For the sake of time, let's just leave it at instinct, shall we?"

"Fine with me," Kira rapidly replied, ducking a wild strike from a drone, then sweeping a kick taking it to the ground. Cain gave Kira a nod now that she was at his level, quickly stood up and continued to tear through his presumed half of the Tyrannodrones while Kira struggled to incapacitate her group.

Several minutes later all the drones were either shut down or dismantled into numerous pieces that spanned across half the courtyard. Cain strolled over to Kira where they were both trying to catch their breath. "Twenty-seven," he said with a smirk.

"Damn, I only got like twenty-four. I think a few wandered over to your side when you started decapitating a few of the others."

Cain stood straight up and cracked his back. "Can't celebrate just yet."

"Seriously?"

He gestured his head forward where a second portal appeared, but instead of more drones departing from it, a mutant to which its parts couldn't be recognized exited the portal. "There's no way I'm dealing with this right now," Kira said angrily. With the invisiportal still open, she belt out a ptera scream that sent the creature flying backwards into the portal before it closed. Over her scream, Kira was unable to hear Cain roaring in pain. He dropped to his knees, desperately covering his ears in an attempt to keep at least a portion of the sound out. "Now that has got to be worth at least four," she laughed, looking in Cain's direction, "Oh my God!"

Kira rushed over to help, but the shock of what happened kept her from thinking straight. She pried one of Cain's hands away from his ear, only to find it covered in blood and it wouldn't stop shaking. The source of the blood was from his ears which were still dripping, even more so now that his hand was removed. A moment later, Cain shifted his hands from his ears to his temples, vigorously clenching his teeth together, groaning loudly in pain, which evolved into a growl.

"Shit," Kira swore. In a panic she pushed the buttons on her communicator, not coordinated enough to push both at the same time until the third attempt. "Dr. O? I swear to God it was an accident. I…I don't know what to do," her voice was weak and brought down by anxiety. Cain was still on the ground, muttering in what Kira thought to be a different language.

"Kira just calm down. What happened?"

"Some Tyrannodrones attacked us at the mall, and we took care of them, but then this creature showed up from another portal. I used my powers to send it back through, and the next thing I know, Cain's on the ground, his ears are bleeding, he's not saying anything, it looks like he's in a lot of pain, and I don't know what to do. Do I take him to a hospital? I really think I should."

"Taking him to a hospital isn't a good idea right now. You need to get him back to the lab, Hayley and I will take care of it. Until then, we'll try to find the monster, it's bound to show up again."

"Just don't let him fall asleep. We'll have even more problems if he does," Hayley added.

"O-Okay…"

"Are you all right to drive, Kira?"

She took a deep breath, pulling herself together. "I'm fine, I'll be there as soon as I can." She walked back over to Cain, where she with great difficulty brought him to his feet. "Damn, you're heavier than you look." Cain's nearly dead weight made the journey to the car extremely problematic.

"It's just a car. It can't be that hard to operate. There's the gas, brake, shifter, and the wheel. I can do this…Why have I never learned how to drive?" Kira slowly turned the key, in fear that when the car turned on it might explode. "Shit, I have to back out."

"It's not that hard, just keep the vehicle straight."

"Thanks for the advice, you make it sound so easy. Were you asleep before? Hayley told me to keep you awake."

"I was meditating, actually. Trying to keep the throbbing pain down to a minimum and to keep any sound out. My ears are ringing to a point where I can barely hear myself talk. It was hard to concentrate with you constantly talking to yourself though."

"Sorry about that. I've never driven a car before."

"Get out, I don't want to be killed in a car accident on your account."

"No, no, no. You're in no condition to be driving. You can't even walk straight."

"I may be seeing double, but at least I know how to drive."

"I'm not moving, there's no way I'm letting you in this seat." Cain got out of the car and stumbled to Kira's side. He easily picked her up and moved her to the passenger's seat, then put the Jeep in gear. "That's so not fair."

* * *

"Alright, now I'm the dizzy one," Kira said as she was struggling to walk down the stairs of the lab. "Why don't we have a teleporter again?"

Cain responded with a growl, then slowly managed to settle himself in the same spot he was in before he left, his head in his hands.

"Cain, are you OK?" Hayley asked when she reached his side, inspecting his ears and cleaning them up. "At least the blood's your own this time."

"I'm fine, I just need somewhere pitch black with no noise whatsoever."

"Hayley, I have a bottle of aspirin upstairs in the medicine cabinet. You mind getting it?"

"Sure, I'll bring a few down," she glanced over to Cain, the look of excruciating pain on his face. "You know what, I'll just bring the whole bottle."

"Thanks. Kira, give me the keys to the Jeep back, please."

"Oh, I don't have them. This maniac drove home," she said with disdain, pointing at Cain.

"You're kidding, I thought you did."

"I started to, then he found out I've never driven before and kicked me out of the driver's seat. He literally picked me up and put me down on the other side. He drove here when he couldn't even walk correctly, and he mentioned he had double vision at the time."

"At least I know how to operate the damn thing," Cain interrupted, tossing the keys back to Dr. Oliver. "You were freaking out before you put it in gear. There was no way you could have backed out of that space."

"Even if that's true, what you did was extremely dangerous."

"Look, I know it was reckless, so spare me the lecture, Oliver. I'm not one of your students." Dr. Oliver and Cain's eyes remained locked on each other for several moments, both of which ignited with anger. Cain raised one of his eyebrows as if to make a point in the silent conversation they seemed to be having.

"So where are the guys?" Kira asked, trying to ease the tension.

"They should be here soon. I called them after what happened," Dr. Oliver replied, finally breaking eye contact with Cain.

A distinct engine roar could be heard from the lab, announcing the others' arrival. Cain clutched his head, excruciating pain shot to his temples as the vehicle grew closer. He snarled, trying to keep his noise to a minimum despite how much pain he was in. Kira gave him a sympathetic look that was sought with guilt. She couldn't shake the idea that she was to blame, though Dr. Oliver and Hayley insisted otherwise.

Conner, Ethan, and Trent's footsteps on the floor above made his head feel like a jackhammer was consistently pounding his skull from the inside. What little he could interpret from their voices over the ringing echoed in his eardrums, he was surprised they didn't start bleeding again. They came down the stairs in succession, first looking over to Cain who had his head in his hands, then to Dr. Oliver who put his index finger to his lips, hinting them to stay as quiet as possible.

"You look like hell," Conner stated as he stepped closer to Cain for a closer look.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop where you are and shut the hell up," he groaned, looking Conner coldly in the eye.

Conner halted mid-step, "I'll just be over there then…" Cain replied with a low growl, returning his hands to his temples.

A few seconds later Hayley returned from upstairs with a large bottle of aspirin she managed to retrieve from Dr. Oliver's bathroom. She handed Cain the bottle, to which he immediately took several pills from and shoved them into his mouth. "What took you so long?" Dr. Oliver quietly asked.

"That cabinet was a mess, Tommy. It's a miracle I found anything in there, it's like a tornado came through it," she whispered. The Rangers chuckled in the background as Hayley scolded their teacher once again. "Cain, you're welcome to go to my apartment and rest there. With all the curtains closed it gets pretty dark in there. I don't have any neighbors, so you don't have to worry about the noise either. The couch in the living room pulls out into a bed."

Cain once again struggled to get to his feet, then replied with a low "thank you." He gripped the railing of the stairs tightly, nearly bending the metal itself.

"Cain, you don't know where I live."

"I'll find it, don't worry."

"You don't have a key."

"Don't need one," he roared from the first floor, twinging at the volume of his own voice.


	6. Restless

AN: I do not own PRDT, just my character, mentioned several times before. Please review!

The phrase "_Si vis pacem, para bellum_" is a Latin phrase that translates to "If you wish for peace, prepare for war." The phrase is modernly used as the motto for several military squadrons, regiments, and is the motto for the Royal Navy._

* * *

_Hayley returned to her studio apartment around ten o'clock that evening, which was surprisingly early for her. She usually ended up back at home into the late hours of the night, if she came home at all from the lab. She didn't even bother taking out her keys because she figured that Cain would have left the door unlocked when he came over. The locks, however, were just as she left them. She had to dig through her black hole of a purse to find her keys which were hiding under a multitude of items she questioned why they were even in the bag at all.

After dropping the keys into a bowl by the door, she found Cain sprawled on the couch bed, his button-down shirt and boots lying beside it on the floor. He was unmoving with his eyes closed, so Hayley assumed it was safe to turn on the kitchen light in order to fix herself dinner.

"You need a new alternator belt," he said softly, his eyes still closed.

"Excuse me?"

"Your car's alternator belt is wearing down. It's bound to snap soon."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I could hear it making a rattling noise from here."

"At least you're hearing properly again. Is the ringing gone?"

"Not completely, I haven't been able to sleep because of it, I've just been staring at the ceiling counting the dots."

"How can you see the dots on the ceiling in the dark?"

"You could say I have uncanny night vision."

"That makes sense I suppose. What number did you get up to?"

"Twenty thousand, five hundred, and seventy-four."

"Please tell me you're kidding." Cain didn't respond, he just closed his eyes and smiled. "Did you want some dinner?"

"I already ate thanks. I hope you don't mind. I found some ground meat in your fridge, and couldn't help myself but to oblige."

"No problem, it was going to go bad in a few days anyway," she laughed, opening the fridge to review her own options for something to eat. "So you came here to sleep and you've just been counting dots, how proactive of you."

"Au contraire, I came here to get away from light and sound. I never said nothing about sleep. I don't sleep much at all really," his voice faded, his eyes sweeping back and forth toward the ceiling, Hayley assumed he continued counting the thousands of dots that encompassed her popcorn ceiling.

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked, emerging from the refrigerator with a container of leftovers.

He quickly mouthed something to himself, presumably a new number to keep his count. "Umm, I'd have to guess a few days ago. Even then it wasn't for long. More like a power nap than actual sleep."

"Do you have insomnia?"

"You could say that. Sometimes I just prefer to be awake."

"Do you plan on sleeping tonight? Or are you going back to wherever it is you're staying?" she asked between bites of her stir fry.

"It's unlikely. I probably shouldn't go back to where I was, the house was sold today."

"You bought a house here and sold it that fast?"

He chuckled. "No, I found an abandoned house downtown that's been on the market for over eighteen months, and unfortunately for me, a family of five purchased it today. They will be moving in tomorrow."

"So you've been illegally staying in a house for the past couple weeks."

"Yeah, that pretty much hits the nail on the head."

"Where are you going to go now?"

"You would be surprised to know how many houses are either for sale or foreclosed in this town. I picked that one in particular because of its subtlety and size. Finding another that's uninhabited shouldn't be a problem."

"I can't let you do that, you're staying here."

"Really now? Why might that be?"

"Besides being illegal, you can't tell me you have no place to go like that and expect me not to do anything. The last thing you need is to be arrested. Hopefully here you'll actually get some sleep. It's not healthy what you're doing."

"All that may be true, but I don't need your help," he responded, his voice deeper than usual. "However, being the gentleman I am, I won't refuse your offer, you are a lady after all, and the master of the house. More like master of the apartment, but the principle still applies nonetheless," he sighed.

Hayley neatly placed her container and silverware into the dishwasher along with other stray plates near the sink. After washing her hands she turned off the kitchen light and headed back to the living room. "You know if that's your way of saying thank you, it's going to need some work. Good night, Cain," she patted his shoulder lightly. "Please do me a favor, and get some sleep, you need it."

"G'night, Hayley. I'll do my best."

* * *

Hayley awoke the next morning to a familiar sound: silence. She spent approximately twenty minutes getting ready, five of those were consumed by trying to fix a sink leak. Today was the first day that the Cyberspace would be finished with repairs since Cain and Zeltrax's confrontation that destroyed it causing thousands of dollars in damage. She passed through the living room to get to the kitchen only to find Cain's belongings gone and the couch empty, she didn't expect him to be there in the morning, but she hoped that he would. Though craving pancakes, Hayley quickly glanced at the clock on the microwave and in a panic took a granola bar from the cabinet and gathered her things. She paced back and forth across the living room trying to remember where she left her purse. Even after passing the couch several times, not until the seventh did she see a piece of paper lying on the center cushion. In chicken scratch-like handwriting on the page was the number five hundred thousand, nine hundred, and forty-two, followed by a dash and Cain's signature.

"Seriously?" she muttered, finding her bag resting on the table beside the couch and crumpling up the paper then tossing it in the trash on the way out the door.

The drive to the café was a short one, her apartment was only a few blocks away from the Cyberspace. She arrived to remarkably find all the tables and chairs exactly as they should be, in the same places as before. Hayley was told by the contractor though that all the furniture and merchandise was stacked on the far wall with all the computers and other valuable equipment in boxes.

The door leading from the back where extra equipment, food, and drinks were store slowly opened, revealing Cain with a bottled energy drink in one hand and a coffee machine in the other. "You got my note, I trust?" he asked, setting up the espresso machine on the back counter.

"Yes, I did. When did you reach that number?"

"I finished counting around four in the morning, then I walked over here to clean up. I figured it was the least I could do."

"How did you remember where everything was? You even put the blender crooked like it's been for weeks."

"I'm quite observant, Hayley," he smiled. "Little details matter. Such as a crooked blender or two books placed under the front couch leg to make it sit level."

"So you're trying to say that within the five minutes you were in here, in a fight no less, you memorized where everything was placed down to the last detail?"

"Believe what you want. So I assume the creature from yesterday was taken care of? I heard some ruckus while counting yesterday, but that could have been a number of things."

"The Rangers took care of it a couple hours after you left. Put up a good fight too, probably because it was pissed after what Kira did."

"Yeah, that'll do it," he grumbled, popping a handful of small, brown pieces into his mouth.

"Did you just eat coffee beans?"

"Maybe…"

"That's disgusting."

"To each his own," Cain smirked, shoving even more beans into his mouth. "Are the others coming by?"

"They were going to after school to help get the place settled again, but you did their jobs for them, and then some."

"So that's a no?"

"Well thanks to you, I can probably open this afternoon, so it's a yes."

"I see. With that being the case, I'll be leaving. My presence here with civilians isn't suggested. A few of them might actually recognize me from before."

"You're probably right. So I'll see you back home later or at the lab?"

"But of course, anything for you, mistress," he bent over and mockingly bowed, winking at Hayley as he brought his head up, his remaining open eye flashed yellow.

"Just get out," she chuckled.

He turned toward the door, and waved at Hayley behind him. Cain climbed up the side of the building to take his normal scenic route on the rooftops to avoid as many people as possible. He leapt from building to building, skidding to a halt when he heard the firing of rifles four streets away. Upon closer observation, the shots were coming from behind a church in a small graveyard. Another shot was fired into the sky by three men simultaneously wearing Army uniforms, a third shot about a minute later. Several people were gathered in the cemetery in neat rows of ten, two women and a child in the front row had been crying the entire time that Cain sat atop a gargoyle of the church quietly observing the service. After the coffin of the soldier was lowered into the fresh grave, the commanding officer gave the soldier's mother the folded American flag, a tradition for military funerals. The woman burst into a steady flow of tears, while the colonel rubbed her shoulder.

The priest finished the service with the most common funeral prayer, that of the twenty-third Psalm. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want," he began. Cain assumed that the deceased soldier, or his family at least, were of the Catholic religion, this prayer is commonly recited at Catholic funerals. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me," the holy man continued. The other woman in the front row took the hand of the small boy, both of them in tears, and walked toward the grave. She had been clenching a necklace in her hand for the whole service. She tried to put them on top of the coffin before the hole was filled, but couldn't bring herself to. Her son, who looked no older than ten, took his father's dog tags and placed them gently upon the wooden box where what remained of his father had been laid to rest. "…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen."

Several minutes passed, yet Cain still watched in silence. The large crowd dispersed after many hugs, apologies for the family's loss, and how the man died in service to his country, making him a hero. When all of the attendees had gone, he jumped down from his perch and headed toward the grave site. The workers of the cemetery had not yet come to fill in the hole, so he had some time to himself. He came to a stop in front of the grave facing the tombstone, then placed his hands behind his back and lowered his head for a moment of silence. A few seconds later Cain raised his head, and stared directly at the grave marker. "_Si vis pacem, para bellum_," he uttered in a low voice, reading from the stone under the man's name. "If only that were true, kid," he sighed. Cain took a clump of dirt from beside the grave and poured it on top of the soldier's dog tags and coffin.

* * *

"Where have you been all day?" Conner asked as Cain descended the final step down to the lab later that evening.

"Cleaned up the Cyberspace, took a walk, and ran into a funeral."

"How do you just run into a funeral?" asked Ethan, a confounded expression on his face.

"I was walking around, and a military funeral for a fallen soldier was taking place in a cemetery behind a rather large church."

"I would hardly call stalking the rooftops like Batman 'walking around'," Hayley said with a grin.

"Call it what you will, but I find getting around that way much more efficient."

"So you were pretty much lying out your ass when you said you weren't Batman?" Trent interjected from the corner of the lab sitting next to Kira who still couldn't bare to look Cain in the eye.

"Pretty much," Cain laughed. "Kira, can I talk to you upstairs for a minute?"

She hesitated, but eventually stood up and walked to the stairway. Cain had already made it up to the first floor and was waiting for her in the living room. "So what did you want to talk about?" she asked softly.

"I think you know."

"I'm really sorry, okay. I feel horrible about what happened, and I know it's all my fault. There's nothing I could ever say or do to express how sorry I actually am. I don't expect you to ever forgive me for it…" she began to tear up slightly, but also trying to hide it by looking toward the ground.

"Hey, look at me for a sec. It's not your fault, Kira. You didn't know what would happen, nor were you aware of the consequences. I can't blame you for something like that. You did what you had to, so of course I forgive you. I'm not so cold of a person not to forgive an accident. It didn't hurt that bad anyway," he smiled.

"You're lying," Kira sniffed.

"About the pain perhaps, but not about everything else. Besides, I'm fine now. Forgive me for trying to lighten the mood." For the first time in the conversation, Kira actually smiled, but only slightly. "Do you want to go back downstairs?"

"Actually, can we sit up here for a few minutes?"

"You want me to stay?"

"Yeah, I would appreciate it."

"Sure thing." Cain took a seat on the right side of the couch, Kira sat at the other end.

"So I heard you counted all the dots on Hayley's ceiling. Why would you do that?"

"You would be surprised to what you'll do when you can't sleep," he chuckled.

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think? Hayley said you got into the upper thousands."

"Yes, I would say it sounds insane, but once I started I felt the need to finish counting."

"That makes sense I guess. Why don't you sleep? I figured that you didn't sleep last night, but I know an insomniac when I see one. What's it been? Three days? Four?"

"Well aren't you clever? It's been almost four now with only one nap to satisfy my biological need for sleep."

"So what's the reason for it?"

"Like I've told Hayley, I just prefer to be awake."

"I'll take that as 'Kira, shut the hell up about it'." Only when Kira's phone vibrated for a text message did she realize how late it had become. "Shit, it's almost eleven, I gotta get home." She sent a text message down to Trent asking to take her home so that she could stay upstairs to say good bye to Cain. "I'm really glad we talked like this. I can see you're the type of person who doesn't open up much, and neither am I most of the time. Again, I'm so sorry about yesterday."

"Don't be, Kira," Cain replied with a sympathetic smile. Kira grasped his torso in a hug, and after a few seconds of confusion, he returned the gesture, then quickly let go before the situation turned awkward, especially with her boyfriend heading up the stairs as they embraced.

"Thanks again, Cain," she said, finally letting go.

"No problem. Good night."

"Night!" she shouted as she followed Trent out the front door.


	7. Duality

AN: I don't own PRDT, etc. Please review!

* * *

Cain looked down to find his hands soaked in blood and he was surrounded by metal bars; trapped once again in a cage like the animal he is. The unique flavor of iron rested on his taste buds, the substance was fresh, the crimson liquid still coated the inside of his mouth. A woman, somehow familiar, lay dead by the nearest wall, blood had poured out of various gashes and bites. A puddle formed around her that expanded to the middle of the cell. His head started to pound, he quickly grasped it in pain. Images of Zeltrax electrocuting him mercilessly, Mesogog torturing him with his favorite toy, imbuing unwanted thoughts into his mind, and Elsa making him into her play thing flashed erratically in his mind. He opened his eyes, they had turned yellow, and he roared toward the ceiling. The woman was not alone in the cell with him. A small boy sat in the corner of the cage in the fetal position, crying. Cain looked toward the boy and growled in interest, his canines showing. Only one sensation came to his mind: hunger.

He extended his claws and roared at the boy, who frantically bawled even harder than before. Cain slowly walked forward, a menacing smile on his face as he went. "Please…don't…" the boy desperately pleaded in between bouts of tears. His blonde hair was already tainted with blood from a cut on his head he had received when being thrown into the cage earlier. The boy stood up and looked Cain in the eye, tossing his fear aside. "My dad always told me that fear is a trick our mind plays on us. I'm not afraid of you, and he wouldn't be either." Cain responded with a growl of discontent and raised his dripping right hand to the side, then quickly swiped across the little one's neck, more blood splattered across the room and onto him.

"Cain, wake up!" Hayley shouted, shaking him. Cain was passed out on her couch, violently snarling and twitching. He arose within a second of Hayley's contact with him and grabbed her by the neck, sending her to the floor with him on top of her. His eyes were glowing yellow, his breathing was still heavy and supplemented with several low growls. "Cain, stop!" she yelled, gripping his arm as hard as she possibly could. "Cain!"

He closed his eyes, and shook his head back and forth several times, coming to his senses. When he opened them, his eyes had returned to their normal brown color. Cain looked down and quickly relinquished his grip around Hayley's throat. The look of horror on his face almost mirrored hers. Cain didn't even bother to take any of his belongings before he leapt out of the window in the living room, landing on all fours from the sixth story. "Wait!" Hayley coughed, trying to stop him, but he had already made it down to the next block.

Hayley ran to the bar in the kitchen to dig through her purse for her cell phone that ended up at the bottom once again. Dr. Oliver was of course number one on her speed dial. "Tommy? Tommy, can you hear me?"

A grumble was heard on the other end of the line at first. "Yeah, Hayley, I can hear you. What's going on?"

"There's something wrong with Cain."

"Tell me something I don't know." Static was heard on Hayley's end, indicating that Dr. Oliver was attempting to get out of bed while on the phone with her.

"Tommy, I'm not kidding. This is bad."

"What happened?" he asked, finally realizing how serious Hayley was being, and how scared she sounded.

"I came home about ten minutes ago and I found Cain sleeping on the couch. Well, he wasn't really sleeping. He was having a nightmare from what I could tell. When I tried to wake him up, he took me to the ground. His eyes had changed color and he just kept growling like a rabid beast. When he finally came to his senses and went back to normal, he looked completely terrified, even more so than I was. Then he jumped out my living room window and ran down the street."

"Don't you live on the top floor of your building?"

"Yes, but that's not the point, Tommy."

"I know that. I'm going to head back downstairs and see if I can find him. I want you to come back over here. You're not safe there, at least for tonight."

"What if he comes back?"

"That would be the problem. I knew he was unstable, but nothing like this. He attacked you, Hayley."

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on him like that, especially while he was sleeping."

"Please, just get back over here as soon as possible."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." she hurriedly said and closed her cell phone. Just in case he did decide to return, Hayley left the window he exited from open for Cain, as well as folding the extra shirt he once again threw on the floor.

* * *

"You sure you're OK?" Dr. Oliver asked as she sat down in the chair next to his.

"I'm fine, just shaken up is all. Were you ever able to track him down?"

"Unfortunately not, he's the expert in that category," he quickly glanced away from the monitor toward Hayley. "Why is your neck red?"

"I'll give you three guesses."

"That son of a bitch…" The vein on Dr. Oliver's forehead began to pulsate and he clenched his fists.

"Hey, calm down," she said taking his hand. "I said he took me down, I just assumed you would figure out how he did. It's his favorite move, you know."

Dr. Oliver stood up, ran one of his hands slowly down his face, and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I know it is. I also know you weren't seriously hurt, but we need to find him before he harms anyone else. Cain could end up killing someone, Hayley. There hasn't been a single trace of him around here. He couldn't have gotten out of state this fast."

"Well, we were never able to find him using any of our systems before, why should this be any different?"

"I kept the blood sample he took the night he showed up down here. I should have been able to track him in mere seconds, but I got nothing."

"I'm sure he'll come back. Probably not tonight, but hopefully tomorrow."

"He better. We need to have a serious talk."

"I'm more worried about what he saw in his dream than how he reacts to a sudden wake up call. Whatever he saw either scared the hell out of him or got him extremely pissed off, both of which are cause for major concern."

"It could have been about a number of things. His time captive with Mesogog, his life before that, who knows? You know damn well he's not the sharing type, so even if he does return, he'll probably never speak of it. We don't even know his real name, for God's sake."

"I know, but maybe if we actually sat down with him, he might talk. You never know Tommy, Cain could be his last name or something."

"Then why haven't you been able to find any information on him?"

"That's a very good question. I've checked every database for a living and not biblical person named Cain, but nothing has ever come up. Not that I expected anything to, but I was still hoping there would be at least one result, namely him."

"Look, I'm just as worried as you are about him, probably more so, but it's late so I'm heading back to bed. Fridays are always the worst when it comes to the school. No one's focused, but I can hardly blame them. The guest bedroom is set up whenever you want to go to sleep."

"Thanks, Tommy. Don't forget about Kira's gig tomorrow."

"How could I?"

"You better not," she smiled. "Good night."

"Same to you, Hayley."

* * *

Before first period started, Dr. Oliver pulled Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent aside to the front of the room. "This is probably the only time we'll get to talk before school lets out, so here goes. Cain's missing and we can't find him. If you happen to see him, don't approach, call me first, then I'll take care of it."

"Take care of it?" Kira hastily asked. "What did he do?"

"It's a long story, so let's just say he's unstable at best."

"That bad, huh?" Ethan interjected. "Did he attack someone?"

"You could say that. Look, the bell's about to ring, so sit down and get your homework out." Conner broke eye contact with Dr. Oliver when he mentioned homework. "You didn't do it, did you?"

"I started, but I had a history paper to write last night about whether Jefferson was truly a democratic president. I'm sorry, Dr. O."

"Good luck on the quiz without it," he smiled, putting his glasses on.

"You know, I never understood why you wear glasses. I see you without them all the time, is it like a Clark Kent thing when you're teaching?" Trent asked.

"I have contacts actually, but I have a habit of forgetting them at seven in the morning, and my glasses happen to always be in my briefcase, so I have to use those. When you get older, your body starts to betray you, and your vision is usually the first thing to go."

"You're not even thirty yet, and your vision is going bad, that's a good sign, Dr. O." Kira chuckled.

"You bet it is." A loud bell rang in the background and sustained for several seconds. "I'll see you guys at the Cyberspace after school. Good luck today, Kira."

"Thanks."

Dr. Oliver moved from behind his desk so he could directly speak with all of his students, not just his Rangers. "Now can anyone tell me what extinct mammals lived during the Ice Age? If you completed the assignment last night, this should be an easy one."

"Mammoths and sabretooth tigers," Ethan stated.

"Correct," Dr. Oliver replied with a faint smile. "Can anyone tell me the name of the scientist who discovered extinction based on the remains of mammoths?" Dr. Oliver could almost hear crickets from the silence in the room. "Anyone?" Not one student in the room was looking at him, a sign that they had no idea whatsoever. "His name was Baron Georges Cuvier," he said while writing the name on the board behind him, the students immediately wrote the name down as well. "He was an eighteenth century European anatomist and an expert zoologist. The remains of mammoths discovered in Europe and Asia were nothing compared to the modern elephant, which led to his theory of extinction, and later mass extinction of several species caused by changes to the Earth's surface. What changes could have led to this beast's extinction?"

Before any student could answer, Dr. Oliver's cell phone started to vibrate, Hayley's name showed up on his called ID. "Excuse me for a moment, I have to take this," he said, heading out the door. "Hey, what's going on? I have a class right now, you know."

"Yes, I'm fully aware, but I figured this was slightly more important. I found him, or at least he let himself be found."

"Cain? Where is he, and how the hell did you track him down?"

"He's currently in the San Gabriel mountain range about fifty miles away from here. I figured it was him because there's been a breadcrumb trail of mysterious cattle disappearances by 'a large, unidentified animal' all the way up there."

"That doesn't really surprise me. I'll take the rest of the day off and head out there."

"Do you think that's wise?"

"Not really, but this has to be taken care of before it gets even more out of hand. I warned the Rangers not to approach Cain if they saw him today."

"It's for the best I suppose. Are you going to finish your class?"

"Unlikely. After I hang up, I'll tell the class and Randall an emergency came up. Hopefully I'll be back in time for Kira's show tonight."

"I'll send the coordinates to you in a few minutes then. Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it." Dr. Oliver pushed the red button on his phone and placed it back into his pocket. He took a deep breath and entered the classroom once again. From his desk he took his jacket and briefcase without saying a word. "I'm sorry, but I have to cut class short, there's something I need to take care of. For homework I want you to read chapters eleven and twelve of your books which talks about the Ice Age and its aftermath."

"What's so important that you have to leave not even halfway through class?" Cassidy obnoxiously asked.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you, Cassidy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get chewed out by my boss before I can leave." On the way out the door, Dr. Oliver gave the Rangers a nod, then he preceded to principal Randall's office.

"And where do you think you're going?" Randall asked sternly with her arms crossed and foot tapping as Dr. Oliver was signing out.

"Damn," he muttered. "I have an emergency to take care of. I was just looking for you, actually."

"You know, Tommy, with you being such a good guy, it makes you a terrible liar. Since you feel that your personal endeavors are more important than your job, you can take over Saturday school duties tomorrow morning. Be here at seven sharp."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I look forward to seeing you there."

"Son of a bitch," he mumbled after Randall was out of clear earshot.

* * *

The journey to the San Gabriel mountain range was a long one, being almost two hours. About a half hour into the drive, Hayley sent the coordinates 34°14′36″N 118°05′54″W to the GPS in his car. They led Dr. Oliver to San Gabriel Peak, a summit over six thousand feet high located in Angeles National Forest. "Why am I not surprised you came out here?" he said to himself. "I'll bet this week's salary that you're all the way at the top," Dr. Oliver grimaced as he stepped to the edge of the cliff, looking for a safe path to climb.

Due to the lack of cell phone reception, Dr. Oliver used his communicator to contact Hayley. "You're sure he's at the peak, right? If not, I'm about to waste the next several hours climbing up this damn thing."

"That's where the trail leads to. Hopefully you'll run into him before you reach the top." Hayley heard a groan on the other end. "Hey, it was your decision to go after him."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "Starting to regret that now. I'll call you if I find him."

"Have fun."

"Bite me."

"Oh I'm sure Cain will have no problem doing that for you."

"Bye, Hayley."

It seemed like forever before a flat surface on the mountain appeared for Dr. Oliver to rest on. He sat against the cliff wall and downed almost half of the water bottle he had stashed in his pocket from the car. In the middle of taking a sip, he heard a faint growl not too far away. He rose cautiously, looking back and forth along the edge several times. "Hello? Cain, I swear to God if you're screwing with me…" He heard another growl, this time it was louder, he could tell the source was quickly approaching. A wild coyote came from around the bend of the mountain, viciously growling. "Shit," he swore under his breath. He slowly began to back up, never looking away from the raging coyote. "Good dog, just stay there. Coyotes don't eat humans, right?" As if understanding him, the coyote loudly growled in response, stepping forward as fast as Dr. Oliver was backward. "Of course you're not a normal coyote…that would be too convenient. You probably haven't eaten in days from the look of it." The wild dog began barking in a threatening manner and took a considerable amount of large steps forward, trying to trap Dr. Oliver in a corner.

He was running out of walking room fast. He briskly turned to look where the edge of the mountain was, but in that split second, the coyote seized the opportunity and leapt at him full force. He turned back just in time to hold up his arm so the coyote wouldn't bite his neck, but yet it still had a firm grasp on his right forearm, the fangs burying deep into his skin. Dr. Oliver screamed in pain as the beast bit down harder, its teeth almost reaching bone. Clenching his jaw trying not to think about the pain, he punched the coyote hard on the nose twice and forced it to let go of his arm that was now profusely bleeding. He kicked the dog back as well, which was effective for a couple seconds until it got even angrier than before.

The coyote howled and echoed throughout the range, signaling its final strike. Dr. Oliver attempted to prepare himself, though he didn't quite know how. A figure dropped from above in between the two combatants. Cain's eyes flashed yellow, he barred his teeth and shook his head while letting out a low growl of his own. The coyote growled in displeasure and walked away the way it came around the bend. Leaned against a wall, Dr. Oliver stood with a confused expression.

"It's an animal thing," Cain smirked.

Dr. Oliver scoffed. "You couldn't have done that 'thing' a minute ago?" he winced, holding his arm up with a blood soaked hand.

"I didn't know what she was attacking until I heard you scream," he smiled.

"She?"

"Yes, she was likely looking for fresh meat to feed to her cubs. You're just lucky you didn't come across a mountain lion, they're less forgiving about their prey, and they tend to go after anything, including humans. If you had climbed any higher, you would have ran into one. Coyotes prefer smaller game, but hungry enough, everything is food, as you've seen."

"Where did you come from?" Dr. Oliver groaned. Cain simply pointed up. "Great."

"How did you find me?" Cain's tone immediately switched to one more serious.

"Hayley noticed some missing cattle reports that led toward here, and she picked this peak because of your usual habits."

"I think a better question is why you followed me, even going to the length of climbing the mountain."

"I know what happened last night, Cain. You scared Hayley half to death, and she said you were just as freaked out. Not to mention you attacked her, that's what is really getting to me about all of this."

"You think it's not eating away at me? I've been beating myself up since it happened. I'll give you a free shot, I deserve it, though I doubt you'll do much damage with that bad arm of yours."

"I still have one good one," he said while wrapping the damaged arm in the top shirt he was wearing. "Hayley said you were having a nightmare. What about?"

"That doesn't concern you."

"It does now, trust me."

"It's the reason I try so hard not to sleep. Every time I close my eyes the same thing plays in my head over and over."

"And whatever you're seeing makes you hulk out."

"In a matter of speaking. I'm angry and afraid at the same time. It brings out the worst in me I suppose." Cain sighed deeply. "You should really get back to Reefside and have your arm looked at by Hayley, if not a hospital. The coyote might have punctured a vein, and you'll probably need stitches."

"I know, but how do you suggest I get back to the ground like this?"

"I found some hiking gear a couple ledges up, there's probably rope in there. I'll be right back."

Cain returned a few moments later with a long rope. "Well there weren't any harnesses or anything else helpful, so I'll just hold the rope while you slide down."

"What about you?"

"When you reach the ground, I'll jump down and head back with you. I didn't intend on staying here much longer anyway, I just needed somewhere peaceful to think for a while. Don't worry, I can hold your weight." Cain wrapped one end of the rope around his left arm and held a little lower with his right. He dropped the other end of the rope down the face of the mountain, nearly reaching the bottom.

Dr. Oliver used his good arm to slide down the rope, but it wouldn't be good for long, the rope burn alone would end up being almost as painful as the arm that was actually bleeding, though the blood on his hand lubricated the rope slightly. The rope ended about twenty feet above ground level, but considering his normal daily activities, twenty feet wasn't that bad of a jump.

Cain jumped from the mountain, then latched onto the side of the mountain with his claws, sliding the rest of the way down to reduce his impact. "Show off," Dr. Oliver mumbled.

"I don't think so," he smiled. "Do you intend on driving home like that?"

"I've driven with a broken right foot before, I think I'll be fine. Are you riding with me?"

"It would save me a fifty mile run."

"Very true." After reaching his car, Dr. Oliver couldn't start the car or shift with his right hand, so he awkwardly had to reach over the wheel to put the key in the ignition and shift the car into gear with his left.

* * *

Dr. Oliver stumbled down the stairs to his lab. To him, the entire room was spinning and had to sit down on the ledge near the stairs, he couldn't even make it to the side of the room that Hayley and the others were on.

"When do you think Dr. O will make it back? He's been gone since this morning," Ethan asked.

"Already here," said a voice from the shadows.

"Wow, didn't see you back there, didn't hear you either. Holy shit, Dr. O, are you OK?" Conner asked, noticing the red cloth wrapped around Dr. Oliver's right arm.

"It could be worse," he groaned.

"I could have sworn that shirt was light brown earlier," Kira stated.

"It was."

"Tommy, come here, what ever it is I should take a look at it," Hayley interrupted.

"I would, but getting up isn't really possible at the moment. I'm extremely lightheaded."

"Fine." Hayley took a seat next to Dr. Oliver on the ledge and lightly grabbed the cloth, parts of which were still wet. He groaned as she slowly unwrapped the makeshift bandage to reveal a full set of deep, embedded bite marks surrounded by a fair amount of blood. "Jesus, Tommy, what happened? You've lost a lot of blood. Did Cain do this?"

"No, he saved my ass actually."

"Then what did?"

"A coyote, a very hungry one."

"I'll go grab the first aid kit and a needle and thread from upstairs," Hayley volunteered, quickly making her way up the steps.

"So how much does that hurt? It looks pretty bad, shouldn't you have gone to a hospital?" asked Trent.

"Not a big fan of those."

"Most Rangers aren't," Hayley added on the way back down the stairs. "No matter how bad, especially for the boys, a hospital is the last resort." She poured peroxide over Dr. Oliver's entire forearm, he clenched his jaw to hold back a yelp of pain.

"Is it supposed to sizzle like that?" Conner asked, his face was distorted to an expression of disgust.

"The cells in the wound are causing the hydrogen peroxide to break down into water and oxygen gas, causing the fizzing." Hayley carefully dried off Dr. Oliver's arm, and threaded the eye of the needle. "So what happened to Cain?"

"He ran the coyote off by growling at it, almost talking to it in a way. He was in the car with me until we got back to town, then he just jumped out and didn't say a word about where he was going."

"So he opened the door and jumped out at the first sign of civilization?" Trent asked.

"No, he—oww!"

"Sorry," Hayley said after pulling the skin on Dr. Oliver's arm too taught while sewing the larger gouges in his skin together, but the needle prodding didn't seem to bother him all that much.

"Like I was saying, he didn't even open the door, he basically ejected himself straight out of my Jeep."

"Hey, Dr. O, I'm sorry to just leave while you're being operated on and all, but Trent and I have to go set up for tonight. I'll see you later though, right?" Kira asked.

"Don't worry about it. See you guys later," Dr. Oliver said as Hayley was finishing up and wrapping his arm in actual bandages.


	8. Berserker Part I

AN: I don't own PRDT, just Cain. Nor do I own the song "White Balloons" originally by the Sick Puppies. I found the song appropriate in certain respects. Emma, the bassist, has never had a lead part in a song before this one, and her voice is beautiful, she should sing lead more often. This is the majority of the song, only some parts have been omitted.

Please review!

* * *

Cain laid atop the roof of the Cyberspace on his back, listening to the sweet sounds of Kira's set. She was right in saying that even if he were to observe from the roof, it would be like he was standing in the crowd. He closed his eyes and unconsciously tapped his foot to the steady beat of her rhythm that circled through his ear drums.

_ I'm holding onto white balloons up against a sky of doom,_

_ Tell me you see them._

_ 'Cause what's inside of me is invisible to most, even in clear view._

_ I'm sending out a signal to the possibility of you,_

_ 'Cause right at this moment _

_ I know you're connected to a part of me that I don't even know myself._

_The changes in me are likely to be like the weather._

_ Stormy and clear, strength into fear bound together._

_ The changes in me are likely to be like the weather._

_ Cloudy at best…_

_Angels lift me, are you with me?_

_ I'm holding onto you like I'm holding onto white balloons._

_ Carry me away, I hope that you don't break._

_ Don't break._

He smiled as she finished the song, appropriately named "White Balloons". The crowd cheered loudly, encouraging Kira to play an encore. She hesitantly refused because it was getting late, and it was time to close up the café for the night. At first only the civilians left, leaving only the Rangers and Hayley behind. The Rangers left in pairs, where Dr. Oliver and Hayley remained. Cain noticed the bandages on his arm and assumed he gotten it taken care of. Dr. Oliver was obviously tired, so Hayley sent him home against his wishes. Once Cain heard Dr. Oliver's vehicle enter the main road, he opened the newly installed sunroof and dropped to the floor.

"You know, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had those put in. It brings a whole lot more light in though," Hayley smiled, standing in front of him.

"Is Tommy okay?"

"He's fine, I stitched him up. Thanks for not letting him get eaten."

"No problem. I'm really sorry about last night. It won't ever happen again, I promise."

"Cain, don't apologize, it wasn't your fault."

"Exactly, the point, Hayley, I can't control it. At least you see now why I don't sleep."

"The nightmares?"

"Yeah, but it's pretty much the same one over and over. It can change, but it's mostly consistent."

"Look, I know you don't want to tell me what's going on, but you at least owe me that."

"I can't…"

"Give me a reason why not."

"I don't want you to end up like them. I can't handle something like that again," he trailed off.

"Cain, look at me," Hayley said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

He put his head in his hands for a moment, pulling himself together. "I had a wife and child. A boy, actually. Spitting image of me, except for his eyes. He had bright blue eyes just like his mother," he choked.

"What happened to them?" Cain muttered a reply that Hayley was unable to interpret. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"I-I killed them. I didn't even recognize them…something just took over, I couldn't control myself. I was so angry…so…hungry. I lost track of how long I'd been locked in that damn cage, how much I'd been tortured. It just keeps repeating in my head like a broken tape. I see it every time I close my eyes, even when I'm awake now from lack of sleep. That mutant freak took the only family I had left away from me, and I'm going to destroy him for it. A quick death would be too merciful of a punishment."

"Cain, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's no concern of yours. It's my problem."

"Why wouldn't I be concerned? You're having nightmares, you're distant, I've noticed you're having more and more headaches lately, not to mention the flickering thing your eyes do happens more and more often now."

"Well, aren't you observant."

"Not just that, I actually give a damn, Cain."

"If you're smart, you wouldn't. I'm nothing but an animal, Hayley, I realize that. I'd rather be dead than be like this for the rest of my life," he sighed, turning away, he began to pace across the floor.

"Hey, would you stop for a minute and listen to me? You're not an animal, you're—"

"I'm what? What the hell am I, Hayley? I'm sure as hell not human! Not even close." He extended his claws and made sure his canines were visible when he spoke. "Look at me!" His eyes turned yellow. "You can't seriously tell me that this is normal!"

"Cain, you need to calm down. Just sit down, take some deep breaths and I'll get something that'll help. Please just promise you won't take off." He reluctantly nodded and took a seat at the bar. Cain made a futile attempt to meditate, but his mind was torn in several different directions and couldn't even begin to concentrate.

Hayley returned from the storage room of the Cyberspace with a bottle of strong Spanish rum and two small glasses. "You intend to get me drunk?"

"No, just enough to calm your nerves," she smiled.

"I figured you would bring out some tea or something. That's real nice, having a bottle of rum chilling in the back of a teenager's café."

"Don't judge me. This rum was a gift from my father, who fully appreciates the value of a good drink," she explained, pouring both of them a glass full.

"Before you say anything, just drop it," he uttered, downing the rum. "I lost my temper, which I apologize for, but you're not to say anything about this to anyone, especially Dr. Oliver, got it?"

"No, Cain, I can't just drop it." She edged closer to him. "We can help you control your…urges, if you will."

Cain leaned toward Hayley and eagerly pressed his lips against hers. Though reluctant at first, within seconds she gave in and returned his kiss, running her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. He slowly pulled away a few moments later. "Apparently you can't," he playfully growled in her ear, his eyes glowing once again. "I'm going to take a walk, I'll see you at home," he grinned, then kissed her cheek. Instead of his usual extravagant exit, Cain left through the front door and walked down the dark streets of Reefside.

Hayley stood in awe, not realizing her cell phone had rung several times. "Damn," she muttered grabbing at the phone in her pocket. "Hello?"

"Hey, did I leave my flash drive there?" Dr. Oliver's voice responded on the other end of the line.

"Not that I can see, why?"

"I have to digitalize my lesson plans, they're all on there, and I can't find the damn thing. Why must they be so small and easily lost?"

"I'm pretty sure it's a portability issue," she replied, delayed by her other thoughts.

"Probably. Are you alright? It sounds like your mind's elsewhere."

"Something strange happened right before you called, but it's no big deal."

"What was it?"

"I think I just heard footsteps on the roof," she lied.

"You're right, that is weird. I'll see you tomorrow, Hayley."

"See ya," she responded, hanging up the phone. She took another gulp of liquor, "I can't believe I kissed him…what the hell was I thinking? Oh right, I wasn't," Hayley muttered.

* * *

"So there's still no sign of him?" Kira asked.

"Actually, he was on the roof of the café last night. After everyone left, I heard footsteps up there, I could only assume it was him," Hayley replied from in front of the monitors.

"Well at least we know he's still around, that's a start," Dr. Oliver stated, who slowly sat down, cautious of his injured arm. All of the screens flickered between static and what was previously on them, then all went black except the main screen, which was still snowy with static. "Hayley, what's going on?"

"I don't know, I'm not doing this."

"Hello, Rangers," a raspy voice greeted, revealing Zeltrax from the shadows.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dr. Oliver angrily asked.

"Offering you a deal that if you refuse, the blood will be on your hands."

"Meaning?"

Zeltrax stepped aside, revealing Cain strapped to a table and roaring in pain from being electrocuted, his convulsions alone were almost violent enough to release Cain from his bonds. Blood was spread in concentrated spots, mostly on his torso, some of which got darker by the second. "To my master, he is nothing more than a failed experiment, a very irksome one at that. I have no problem simply killing him, but I figured I could use him as leverage to meet my own ends," he hissed. "Besides, this is so much more fun."

"What do you want?"

"You, Dr. Oliver. I want to finish what you started."

"When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I had nothing to do with what happened to you, Smitty?"

"When are you going to stop lying?" Zeltrax retorted, shocking Cain once more, another roar left his vocal chords, this one even louder. The other Rangers cringed at the sight, Kira gripped Trent's hand tightly.

"All right, just stop! I'll do it!" Dr. Oliver bellowed.

"Good. Meet me at the rock quarry in an hour. If you bring anyone else, he's dead." The monitor went black at his last words, Cain's roar still echoed in the room.

"Son of a bitch. How did this happen?"

"Zeltrax probably nabbed him after Kira's show last night, though considering how strong he is, it must have been extremely difficult. An ox would be easier to take down," Ethan proposed.

"Hayley, can you check the city's security cameras from the time you heard Cain on the roof and now and try to see what happened?"

"Sure thing. Tommy, I need to tell you something in private first." He nodded and headed up to the first floor where the Rangers couldn't listen in on their conversation. "Okay," Hayley sighed, "Cain did more than just listen to Kira's set on the roof last night. He came in and talked after everyone left. He said not to tell anyone about what he said, especially you, but considering the circumstances, I think I should."

"Was it about the nightmares he's been having?"

"Yes."

"How bad, Hayley?"

"One of the worst things I've heard in a while, actually."

"Well, what was it?"

"Before all this happened, Cain was married and had a little boy, he never said how old. During the time he was in captivity, Mesogog kidnapped them and…"

"And what?"

"He made Cain murder them. Mesogog did something to his mind, but he remembers all of it," she finished, tearing up slightly.

"Oh, God. You're serious? Why didn't he ever say anything?"

"Would you?"

"Unlikely. If the Rangers didn't find my video diary, I probably wouldn't have told them about the Green Ranger."

"Exactly. He's also in the mindset that he's no longer human because he can't control his inner beast. Granted, he is getting worse, but at least he's aware of it."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you." Dr. Oliver hurried back down the stairs to the lab to get his things. "Kira, you're coming with me, let's go."

"Didn't Zeltrax say that if anyone else came with you he'd kill Cain?"

"When the time is right, I'm going to need you to get him out of there, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Dr. Oliver parked his Jeep near the edge of the quarry before it dipped into the major portion of it. "Kira, stay down until I say otherwise. Zeltrax can't see you, got it?"

"Right. Good luck, Dr. O."

"Thanks." He made his way to the edge and slid down where Zeltrax was waiting for him in the center of the quarry. "Where is he?"

"Skipping the formalities I see. Allow me to do the same." He snapped his fingers and an invisiportal appeared that dropped Cain on to the hard, rigid ground. Cain lay motionless, surrounded by Triptoids, Zeltrax's newest addition to his army.

Dr. Oliver glanced in Cain's direction, trying to determine if he was breathing, but his view was blocked by the Triptoids. He quickly grabbed the morpher key from his pocket, "Dino Thunder, power up!" he shouted, followed by a bright, saturated light. As fast as Dr. Oliver could pull the staff from his belt, Zeltrax was right in front of him, swinging his sword wildly like a Neanderthal. All Dr. Oliver could do was block the barrage of attacks, Zeltrax made sure he didn't get an opportunity of his own to strike.

Finally seeing a chance to gain the advantage, Dr. Oliver ducked down in between strikes and swept Zeltrax's feet out from under him, then put the Brachio Staff to his throat, holding him down. "Kira, now!" he shouted, struggling to keep Zeltrax pinned to the ground.

Kira leapt from the cliff already morphed, Ptera Grips in hand with her wings extended. She flew toward the Triptoids that blocked her way, slicing her way through the horde. Lifting Cain was even more of a challenge with him being unconscious, but she managed to drag him to the path that led back to the top of the quarry. Kira bent over to check that he still had a heartbeat, to her surprise it was much more rapid than normal. "What did they do to you?" she asked softly.

When Dr. Oliver looked over to see that Cain was out of the way, Zeltrax was given the time to go on the offensive. He channeled electrical energy to one fist and punched Dr. Oliver square in the chest, sending him flying. He landed on his back near the cliff wall unmorphed and barely able to breathe. Dr. Oliver managed to get to his knees all the while holding his chest. Once there he coughed multiple times, blood spurting out on most occasions. Shifting his head to the side, he spit the remainder of the blood out of his mouth, and dodged Zeltrax's sword from behind at the last moment.

Despite the unbearable pain in his chest, Dr. Oliver continued to fight Zeltrax unmorphed, but he knew that soon had to change, he could only go through the motions for so long. "Kira, your weapon!" he shouted. She quickly tossed her laser to Dr. Oliver who instantaneously shot Zeltrax which caused a distraction at best for him to morph back to action. He turned the dial on his Brachio Staff and drove it into the ground, inducing an earthquake. To finish him off, Dr. Oliver generated an energy orb directed at Zeltrax, producing an explosion to which he didn't reappear from.

"Come on, let's go before he comes back," Dr. Oliver gasped, making a feeble attempt to catch his breath with his current injury. With a nod, Kira helped carry Cain to the Jeep at the top of the quarry.

* * *

"Well other than an accelerated heart rate, he seems fine, but who knows, that might be normal for him. Unfortunately he's never allowed me to do any sort of exam so I can't be sure. All we have to worry about now is how long it takes him to wake up," Hayley explained, looking down at Cain on the exam table.

"So what now?" Conner asked.

"We keep doing our job, keeping a very watchful eye on Zeltrax, he's definitely playing dirty," Dr. Oliver responded.

"Guys," Kira interrupted, staring at an unoccupied table, "where did Cain go?"

"What are you talking about, Kira? He's right…shit, where is he?" Ethan inquired, looking around the lab in a panic as the others were.

"Calm down," Dr. Oliver reassured. "The door didn't open, and he couldn't have slipped past us up the stairs, so he has to be in here somewhere, we just—" As he turned toward the stairs, Dr. Oliver was cut off by Cain's hand grabbing his neck and was lifted off the ground a few feet, then roared loudly at him. His eyes had changed into a deep, yellow pigment. "Cain…don't," he gasped. Cain replied with another roar, delving his claws into Dr. Oliver's throat, clutching tighter. When he finally went limp, Cain threw Dr. Oliver across the room, where he slid into the wall, blood slowly dripping from his neck to the floor.

"Dr. O!" Conner shouted, running forward, only to be slashed across the chest by Cain and taken to the ground by the neck. He slammed Conner down so hard that significant cracks were made in the stone tiling. He slowly stood up, licking the blood from his claws, then glanced at the remaining Rangers with a sinister growl.

"Kira, get back," Trent warned.

"But…"

"Just go!"

Before Kira could say another word in protest, Cain pounced on Trent from afar, the impact to which his head hit the tile instantly knocked him unconscious. "No!" she shouted. Cain looked over in her direction with a low growl and began to approach. He grasped Kira by the neck and brought her up to his eye level, then tossed her against the wall opposite of him, leaving a crack the length of Kira's back behind.

"That is so it," Ethan angrily remarked, activating his Tricera Armor which would essentially make his arms impenetrable to Cain's claws. He grinned at Ethan's challenge, but obliged him and extended his claws, taking several steps forward. Normally Ethan knows better than to strike first against an opponent like Cain, but the situation called for immediate action. He swung at Cain, though each strike was easily swiped away. At this point, Cain was doing nothing more than playing with his food. Attack after attack was blocked, but Cain grew impatient. Ethan threw a hard punch, but Cain grabbed his arm, then the other, locking his arms so he could no longer fight back. With Ethan's upper body contained, it was no problem getting him to the ground. Once there, Cain roared and bit his neck near the major veins and arteries.

"Cain!" Dr. Oliver shouted, using the wall as a support to get to his feet. "Let him go!"

Cain immediately let go of Ethan who dropped to the floor, he held his neck tight, desperately trying to stop the blood flow. He turned to face Dr. Oliver and uttered a loud growl, his canines clearly visible.

"Cain, you need to stop, this isn't you. You have a choice!" Cain smiled, another growl was heard as he slowly stepped closer. "What would your wife and son think if they saw what you're doing?" Dr. Oliver had never seen Cain move so fast before. He burst into a sprint on all fours, Dr. Oliver didn't get a chance to dodge out of the way, he wasn't quick enough. Cain tackled him through the wall, heavy stone bricks fell around the fresh gap in the wall, he landed on the hard ground out cold. Cain lifted his hand to deliver the final blow, but a scent in the air caught his attention.

He emerged from the large hole, sniffing the air several times, following the scent to the opposite side of the lab where Hayley stood, paralyzed. Cain approached with a smirk, Hayley backed up every step that he got closer, but she finally ran into an electrical tower with nowhere else to go. He leaned in, inhaling her familiar scent of lavender, his eyes flashed back to normal for less than a second.

"I know you're still in there," she said, grabbing his shoulders. "You're not an animal, Cain." He quickly swept her hands away, then pinned them above Hayley's head with a vehement growl. Cain extended his claws, raising his hand to strike. Hayley's eyes widened dramatically as Cain's hand rushed toward her. He plunged into the tower right next to her head, then ripped out several wires causing a blackout in the lab. The last thing Hayley saw was Cain's eyes glowing yellow, then complete darkness. By the time the backup generators kicked in, he was nowhere to be found.

Hayley let out a sigh of relief, but soon remembered what Cain had done. She ran to the aide of the other Rangers, tending to their wounds as necessary. Conner and Ethan were the only ones with serious injuries, Kira and Trent got away with concussions.

"Where's Dr. O?" Conner asked, applying pressure to the gashes made by Cain. Hayley pointed to the giant hole in the wall, trying to concentrate on Ethan's bite. "Holy shit, are you serious? Shouldn't you be taking care of him first?"

"Considering the fact the both of you were bleeding out on the floor, I figured you were of higher priority. It looked like Tommy had around a second to brace himself before Cain tackled him through the brick wall, so I can check on him in a few minutes."

"Cain just tackled him? Why?" asked Trent

"Tommy said something that Cain didn't want to ever hear mentioned again. Okay, Ethan you're done, I'll be right back."

"I can't believe he bit me…" Ethan sighed.

Stone remnants and other debris blocked Hayley's path, but eventually found Dr. Oliver lying on the ground. "Tommy. Tommy, can you hear me?" She shook his arm in an attempt to wake him, but he groaned in pain the moment she touched it.

"Shoulder…dislocated…" he managed to get out.

"I apologize ahead of time for this," she said weakly, taking a firm grip on his arm. "One, two, three," she counted. On three she pulled Dr. Oliver's arm toward her, then pushed it back into place as he yelled in agony. She carefully bent his arm and placed it on his chest in a sling position. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Hayley. How are the others?" he asked, slowly sitting up.

"Pretty good, considering. Come look for yourself."

"You okay, Dr. O?" Kira inquired.

"Just a dislocated shoulder and a killer headache, Hayley took care of it though."

"So this might be a 'too soon' type of thing, but what do we do about Cain?" asked Trent, holding an ice bag to his head.

"For now, nothing. Going after him is the worst possible thing we could do right now."

"Exactly. I mean it was lucky that we even survived," Conner agreed.

"Luck had nothing to do with it, Conner."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If Cain wanted us dead, we would be in pieces and the floor covered in blood. You've seen exactly what he's capable of, and you damn well know that wasn't the worst of it. The Cain we know is still in there somewhere, buried under all that rage."

"He recognized me, or at least how I smell. He sniffed me and for a split second his eyes flashed back to normal," Hayley interjected.

"Well at least there's some good coming of it. Everyone is to go home, got it? Get some rest, I have a feeling that this is far from over."


	9. Berserker Part II

AN: I don't own PRDT, just my own character.

This is my longest chapter, w00t! From the name, I'm sure you can guess what the monster's name means in Latin. I also want to apologize in advance, you'll see why. By the way, if the number I used just so happens to be someone's actual social, my bad. I chose numbers at random.

Please review!

* * *

"Your plan has worked, Master. The beast is loose, and the Rangers are likely dead by now," Zeltrax bowed.

"They better be, Zeltrax. Cain has failed me once, if he has again it is your fault and yours alone."

"I understand, sir. Shall I commence the attack on the city? It is defenseless now."

"Of course," Mesogog hissed. "Bring Veneficus along, he will be of much use to you. I will have Elsa search for our pet."

"Yes, sir. I will begin the assault in the morning."

"Do not disappoint, Zeltrax, or it will cost you dearly. Leave me," he demanded. Zeltrax hastily exited the lab, following his master's orders without question. Mesogog's form erratically flickered between his own and that of Anton Mercer. He was finally able to maintain control after a few seconds. "Fighting me is futile, Anton. You can never win. I am much too powerful to be taken over by someone as weak as you. You humans overestimate yourselves so much it's pathetic. I will be rid of you soon enough," he scowled.

* * *

Hayley made a feeble attempt to be quiet when pulling a pan out of Dr. Oliver's disastrous cabinet. Once she had pulled the skillet she needed, all the other pots came tumbling down like a domino effect. She began gathering ingredients out of the pantry and refrigerator such as flour, milk and eggs, along with others she brought that she knew that Dr. Oliver wouldn't have at the house in a million years such as cinnamon and vanilla extract.

He stumbled out of his bedroom after hearing the clamor Hayley caused in the kitchen shirtless and wearing sweat pants, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you doing here, Hayley? It's so early…"

"I would barely consider ten in the morning early, but on a Sunday that might be a passable excuse. What does it look like I'm doing here?" she smiled.

"Cooking? Is your stove broken or something?"

"Damn, you're really out of it when you first wake up. My stove is fine, Tommy. I'm making you breakfast."

"Why?"

"Do you even know what the date is today?"

"After a while all the days start blending together," he yawned.

"Tommy, it's your birthday," she giggled, handing him a small box and giving him a hug that he wasn't quite ready for.

"Shit, yeah it is. You didn't have to do all this."

"Look, just open the present, the others will be here soon. I suggest putting on a shirt and perhaps some actual pants as well."

"I'll consider it," he laughed. Dr. Oliver untied the bow that wrapped the small present and lifted the lid, revealing a pocket watch with a falcon inscribed onto the front and his name on the inside opposite of the clock face. "Wow, Hayley this is amazing. Thank you."

"No problem. Now would you go get dressed? The Rangers are on their way," she firmly suggested, stirring the pancake batter.

"You didn't tell them about today, did you?"

"Of course not, I know how much you hate people making a big deal about it, but eventually they'll find out, then you're screwed."

"Right," he groaned, heading back into his bedroom and quickly shut the door.

"How do you not remember your own birthday?" Hayley thought aloud while pouring the fresh batter into the skillet. She didn't learn when his birthday even was until their junior year of college. The only reason she discovered it then was because she overheard a conversation Dr. Oliver was having on the phone with his mother who wished him a happy birthday when the pair were studying for midterms.

The roar of Conner's Mustang lowered to a soft growl as it pulled into the driveway. Trent's silver BMW followed suit and parked beside the red muscle car. Taking a lesson from Cain, Trent walked to the passenger's side and opened Kira's door for her.

"Knock, knock," Ethan pronounced as he and the other Rangers entered Dr. Oliver's front door heading into the living room.

"Good morning, guys," Hayley replied from the kitchen.

"It smells really good in here, Hayley," Kira complimented. "What kind of pancakes are those?"

"Thanks, Kira. They're apple cinnamon with some vanilla mixed in as well."

"What's the occasion?" Trent asked.

"Nothing in particular," she lied. "Tommy doesn't usually eat breakfast and I need to keep busy, so I figured I would make some."

Dr. Oliver came out of his room in his usual outfit comprising of a button-down shirt with a black t-shirt underneath and jeans. He appreciatively sported his new watch, the chain hung on the right side of his pants, Hayley gave a one-sided smile at seeing it.

"Morning, Dr. O," Conner greeted.

"Same to you, Conner," he smiled.

Hayley brought out a stack of her pancakes on a plate with a bottle of syrup in the other hand and gave them to Dr. Oliver just outside the kitchen. "Happy birthday," she softly whispered when she passed him the syrup bottle.

"Thanks, Hayley," he grinned. "Don't know what I'd do without you."

"Die of hunger most likely. Here," she said, offering the batter bowl to Ethan.

"What?" he innocently asked.

"Don't give me that, you've been eying it the entire time, just have at it."

"Sweet!" proclaimed Ethan, attacking the bowl like a starving animal.

"Seriously, dude?" Conner asked, a look of disgust on his face.

"Don't judge me…"

"It's a little too late for that," chuckled Trent from the corner of the couch, Kira resting comfortably in his lap, his hand slowly caressed her leg.

Dr. Oliver couldn't help but smile as he finished his pancakes, but it quickly disappeared when an alarm went off on the floor below. The group bolted downstairs with him at the lead, Hayley followed close behind. The main monitor was flashing repeatedly, a small dot on a map was glowing vibrant red.

"God damn it. Couldn't even get one day away from all this bullshit," Dr. Oliver sighed. "Whatever it is, it's in the park. Hayley, can you try and get a clear view using the traffic cams on Central?"

"Of course," she replied, taking her seat in front of the keyboard. Given the numerous amount of times she had to hack into the city's traffic camera system, Hayley had the code memorized by now. The northbound camera on Central Avenue gave a clear shot of the park, which she brought onto the screen.

"Zeltrax again, I never would have guessed," Conner scoffed.

"He's not the only thing we have to worry about. Can you rotate the camera about twenty degrees to the left?" The new angle revealed that Zeltrax was indeed not alone. "There," he pointed, "another creature, no doubt Tyrannodrones and Triptoids are invited to the party as well."

"Doesn't Zeltrax think we're dead?" asked Kira.

"You're right, he does. Let's go prove him wrong," Dr Oliver grinned.

* * *

What the Rangers failed to see beforehand on the cameras were the remains of several civilians sprawled across the grounds of Central Park, a majority of their veins had turned black. Upon the Rangers' arrival, Zeltrax was immediately sent into a rage. "How are you still alive?" he shouted.

"You were wrong about Cain. Whatever you did to him didn't work, at least not all the way," replied Dr. Oliver with a smirk. "What did you do to these people?" he asked angrily, turning his attention to the monster, this was obviously not Zeltrax's handy work.

The creature responded with a maniacal laugh. "I never laid a hand on them. What I exhale is a poisonous gas and any human within a certain radius of me feels the effects instantly. Given the fact that you have powers, it may take hours for it to affect you." It grabbed an object from its back, a large bow, with an arrow already in the other hand. "However, my boss and I aren't the patient type, and would gain much more satisfaction killing you ourselves, rather than a consequence of my very existence." The monster snapped its fingers, a horde of Tyrannodrones dropped from the sky landing in a circular formation.

The Rangers could already feel the poison entering their lungs. They fought the drones as usual, but their reflexes slowed, vision began to blur. It took a while, but eventually they were all apprehended, with Dr. Oliver being the last.

"Now which one should I start with? Perhaps the teacher, make an example out of him," the creature sneered, pulling the string of its bow taught with the arrow.

"Oliver is mine, Veneficus. The children are all yours."

"Who are you calling a child?" Conner spat.

"Silence, red one, or your death will be slower and more painful than you could ever imagine," he retorted, pushing his sword to Conner's throat.

"Very well, have your fun with him. One less arrow to waste I suppose." Its head cocked to the side, focusing its gaze on Kira. "Hello, beautiful. Bring her forward," the mutant ordered.

"No!" Trent yelled, followed by a violent cough. A Tyrannodrone jabbed him hard in the stomach to ensure his silence.

Kira fought with all the strength she could muster, but it wasn't enough. She struggled to release a Ptera scream that had little effect, only causing an annoyance and Veneficus remained unmoved.

"How adorable, trying to resist me like that. I love a woman with spunk."

"Don't you touch her!" bellowed Trent.

"Or what, Ranger? What could you possibly do in this situation that could change the outcome?" Veneficus stepped back about ten feet, perfect firing range. "Such a pretty face, it's a shame to ruin something so rare as natural beauty in this day and age."

It released the grip on the arrow, its trajectory aimed straight at Kira's heart. She braced herself, but the blow never came. Kira opened her eyes to find a hunched figure groaning in pain at her feet. He had dropped to one knee, an arrow plunged deep into his torso slightly below the ribs on his left side.

"Cain," she gasped.

He established a firm grip on the arrow and took several deep breaths before rapidly pulling it out, a low roar of pain erupted from his vocal chords. Cain placed his right hand over the wound after throwing the arrow aside, using his left to keep himself up. Blood poured from the deep laceration, quickly saturating his hand in the thick, red liquid. He heard the stretching sinews of a bow not far away from him, Veneficus was preparing another strike, this time it had a new target in mind.

"How dare you show your face after what you've done, Cain. You have betrayed Mesogog for the last time."

Just as the creature was about to release the arrow, Cain quickly shot up with claws extended and cut off the arm that was holding the bow. Without hesitation, he moved to its throat, swiftly taking off its head with one intricate slash. He stumbled backward a few feet, then collapsed to his knees, vehemently coughing and gasping for air.

"Isn't it interesting how fast venom can spread through the body when introduced directly into the bloodstream? The best thing you can do in a situation like that is to stay as still as possible, because rapid movement causes it to spread faster. You don't have more than a minute to live, Cain, and I assure you, it will be the most painful minute of your entire life," Zeltrax threatened, disdain weighing down his voice.

During the struggle between Cain and Veneficus, even his weakened state, Dr. Oliver had managed to escape the clutches of the Tyrannodrones. "Let him go, Zeltrax, this is between us," he said, fists clenched.

"You're wrong, Tommy. I have been ordered to kill this beast if he became problematic. This has nothing to do with you." Zeltrax charged his sword with energy, aiming it in Dr. Oliver's direction. He fired, but Cain grabbed the blade near the hilt, absorbing most of the blast. Dr. Oliver was sent to the ground, but not even a burn mark was left behind. Cain, on the other hand, was violently shaking on top of his other ailments. He glanced up to Zeltrax who kicked under his chin, the force sent him flying, he landed on the concrete and rolled several times, ending up on his stomach.

"Cain! Cain get up!" Kira yelled, struggling to escape the drones holding her back, such as the others were.

A crimson puddle formed on the ground where Cain's wound continued to profusely bleed. Zeltrax calmly walked over to Cain, sword at the ready. He used his foot to flip Cain onto his back. He raised the sword with both hands, never taking his eyes off Cain. With a sharp motion, Zeltrax drove the sword deep into his chest, a silent roar left him.

"No!" The Rangers shouted in unison.

He lifted the sword, nearly a third was covered in Cain's blood. "Another, day, Rangers," he saluted, disappearing into an invisiportal along with the Tyrannodrones.

Kira was the first one to Cain's side with Dr. Oliver close behind. "Holy shit," she gulped, finally seeing the injuries that had been inflicted and the blood that turned his entire shirt red. Dr. Oliver ripped the shirt even more to get a better look at the wounds. The hole created by the arrow was surrounded by black veins and a trail that led up toward his heart. Zeltrax's sword had pierced nearly all the way through Cain's body. With the inordinate amount of blood loss he endured, Dr. Oliver couldn't imagine how Cain would still be alive, but he pressed two fingers to the left side of his neck, just to make sure, and kept them there for almost a minute.

"Is he…?" Conner softly asked, purposefully not finishing the question.

"Yeah," he sighed. "If Zeltrax didn't kill him, the poison from the arrow would have a few seconds later when it finally reached his heart."

"I can't believe this," Ethan interrupted. "Last night he tried to kill us, and today he saved our asses. How does that even happen?"

"Whatever hold Mesogog had on him obviously wore off."

"What do we do? We can't just leave him here," said Trent.

"You're right. We'll take him to the forest and give him a proper burial. He deserves at least that much. I'll go pull the Jeep around."

Kira teared up, resting her hand on Cain's shoulder. She glanced over at the final blow that Zeltrax inflicted, but noticed something odd where his shirt was ripped, a metal object peeked its way through. She ripped the shirt even further so that his entire torso was exposed. The metal piece revealed itself to be a necklace with two pendants. "Oh my God. This is impossible…" she whispered.

"Kira what the hell are you doing?" Trent hastily asked.

She carefully removed the necklace, holding it tightly in her hand.

"What is that?" he asked, kneeling down to Kira's level.

"Dog tags…" she muttered.

"Dog tags? Why would Cain have dog tags?" Conner inquired.

"He's a soldier, Conner. Or at least he was," Ethan clarified. "That explains a lot, actually."

Dr. Oliver pulled his Jeep over the curb into Central Park. At this point, he didn't give a shit to whether he got a fine or not. He saw that the others were still huddled around Cain's body, and he wondered why. He noticed that Kira was holding something metal with his blood on it. "Guys, what's going on?"

"Cain was in the military, Dr. O. Kira found his dog tags," Trent explained.

"Let me see," he demanded, holding his hand out. Kira slowly placed the necklace in Dr. Oliver's hand. One of the tags was completely covered in blood, but the other was readable.

KANE

DOMINIC L. O NEG

713-92-4865

USMC M

NO PREFERENCE

"At least he wasn't lying about his name," he laughed. "It's just spelled differently. Thinking back, it's not that hard to believe that Cain was a Marine."

"How do you know that he was a Marine?" Ethan asked.

"On the fourth line, it reads USMC, which is the abbreviated form of the United States Marine Corps." Ethan nodded in understanding, then Dr. Oliver pocketed the tags. "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

Dr. Oliver returned to his lab through the cave entrance rather than going through his house. Hayley was at the main table with bottles of chemicals surrounding her, along with various metals.

"I'm glad you're back. I've been looking into the chemical lasers that Cain mentioned and I really think that—" she cut herself off after turning to face him. "Tommy, what happened?" she desperately asked, rushing over after seeing the dried blood that covered Dr. Oliver's hands. He grabbed her hand, then placed the necklace from his pocket into it. "What is this?"

"Cain's dog tags."

"Dog tags? What are you talking about? Cain wasn't a soldier."

"Yeah, he was. A Marine as a matter of fact, I'm guessing a highly ranked one too."

"How did you get these?"

"Kira found them after…"

"After what?" she questioned, barely letting Dr. Oliver finish.

"After he was killed," he sighed. Her eyes filled with water and she gave Dr. Oliver a firm hug. "I'm sorry, Hayley, I knew that you two were close. Don't think I didn't notice the way he always looked at you. You were the only one that he ever talked to, and I know how special that was."

"How?" she sniffed.

"Zeltrax and one of Mesogog's mutants. He died saving us, Hayley," she grabbed him closer at these words. "We're having a funeral for him outside. Come out when you're ready," he pulled away and exited the lab, grabbing a box of various antidotes from a cabinet on the way out.

Hayley staggered her way back to the chair, she felt as if she was going to be sick. She glided her fingers up and down his tags, still trying to accept that he really was gone and that he hid something so pivotal from her. Considering that Cain revealed small bits about himself throughout their time together after gaining his trust, she wondered if he would have ever mentioned his military endeavors. "Dominic, huh?" she asked herself, looking down at the steel tags. "I'll never get used to calling you that."

* * *

As Hayley walked up to where the Rangers were gathered in a circle, Conner and Dr. Oliver finished patting down a mound of dirt with shovels that covered a wooden casket. Kira brought forth a stone marker with Cain's name engraved into it, made from the remnants of Dr. Oliver's wall. She placed it at the head of the grave, then returned to Trent's side and held his hand tightly, trying to hold back her tears.

"We didn't have to know Cain's real name or past to see his true self," Dr. Oliver began. "He was courageous, strong, determined, and at times stubborn, but we knew that despite the horrific things that Mesogog has done to him, he was a hero. Cain assisted us more times than we can count, and fell in the line of duty. As a soldier, or any other class of warrior, it has been known as the most honorable way to die, and I'm glad he has been granted that privilege. Any of us should be so lucky."

"Behind his facade of a quiet brute, Cain was a true gentleman, a man of honor," Kira spoke up, the first to do so after Dr. Oliver's speech. The others remained quiet, almost afraid to speak. "He would never harm any of us on purpose. Cain might not have worn a suit, but he was definitely one of us. He became apart of our offbeat family, our Ranger family," she paused. "He even forgave me after I nearly made his eardrums explode," she chuckled.

"Though he rarely showed it, Cain was a genius. His vast knowledge of science alone would justify that. His study of the martial arts rivaled Tommy's, he knew more about weaponry than I ever could, and who knows what else was swimming around in that brain of his," said Hayley. "Deep down he was a man of compassion, but would prefer to be seen as the opposite. I never met his family, but I guarantee that Cain was a brilliant father and husband. He would have done everything in his power to protect them given different circumstances."

"Wow, after all that, what I'm going to say sounds petty," Ethan said moments later. "I knew that Cain was brilliant, it was a given fact, but I never would have imagined he could beat me in a chess game. I still can't figure out how he did it. He trapped me in checkmate in less than a minute, and every time I go through the game in my head I don't see where I went wrong, he's just that good," he smiled.

After an awkward silence Trent decided to take his turn. "I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I know what Cain went through, but I do understand. The power of a compromised gem in itself is overwhelming, but with Mesogog's mind control and Zeltrax's torture on top of that must have been unbearable. The fact that he was able to fight it off in the end is a triumph, an ordinary man wouldn't have been able to ever manage it."

"I was never really under the impression that Cain liked me all that much. The most distinct memory I have is him kicking straight at my head with a giant grin on his face," Conner joked. "But in all seriousness, I consider him a friend, even though I'm not sure the feeling was mutual. What I do know is that out of the allies we've made, he's definitely at the top of the list when it comes to who I'd want by my side in a fight."

The others nodded in agreement, some of them smiled at Conner's remark. Dr. Oliver lowered his head for a moment of silence, Hayley and the Rangers followed suit.

"It's always hard to lose someone, especially if they were close to you," Dr. Oliver began again, raising his head. "Though it may seem difficult, we shouldn't dwell on the past. We need to live in the present and look to the future." He finally walked away, back toward the lab with Hayley at his heels. Conner and Ethan eventually left, leaving Kira and Trent alone.

Trent looked to his side, a tear ran down his girlfriend's soft cheek. "Babe, what is it?" he asked.

There was an extended pause before Kira turned to Trent to answer. "It's my fault…" she uttered, more tears left her. "He died because of me. If I hadn't…if I hadn't screamed he wouldn't have shown up in the first place."

"I would have taken his place a hundred times over."

"What?" she quietly asked, looking up into his eyes.

He leaned down, gently resting his forehead against hers, his hand smoothly moved up and down her back in their embrace. "I don't want to lose you," he admitted. "I can't lose you. If that thing killed you…I would have completely lost it." He leaned further and landed a soft kiss on her lips. "It's not your fault, Kira. Cain made a choice, and you had nothing to do with it. I'd like to believe he would have done the same for any of us." He kissed her again, this time she returned it fiercely.

"That has to be one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me."

"I try," he smiled. "Let's get back."

She took his hand, caressing it with her thumb. "Good idea."

* * *

"You can't honestly say that you aren't curious, Dr. O," said Conner sternly.

"I never said that I wasn't. Cain didn't tell us for a reason, and I'm merely trying to respect his privacy."

Unfortunately for them, Kira and Trent walked in on an argument that they were likely to be dragged into. Conner had the habit of bringing in people who had nothing to do with it in an attempt to get his point across. Not the best of strategies, but it was annoying enough to make his opponent give in for the most part. He looked toward the stairs at the pair, a smirk emerged on his face.

"Before you say anything, Conner, we're in no way part of this," Trent explained. "You'll have to fight all on your own this time."

Conner's smirk suddenly transformed into a frown of disappointment. "Well what do you think, Hayley?"

She let out a deep sigh. "I can't believe these words are actually coming out of my mouth, but I agree with you, but not for the same reason," she said, glancing at Dr. Oliver, knowing he would be angry with what she said. "Cain shouldn't have hidden something like this from us. It's not a small thing either like who his high school prom date was, it's his life. I think we should look into it. He obviously can't tell us now, not that he ever would."

Dr. Oliver reluctantly nodded, he knew that Hayley was right. He absolutely hated when people kept secrets, why should Cain be any different? "So hacking into a highly encrypted government database shouldn't be too much trouble for you then?" he winked.

"That's not even a question," she grinned. She sat in front of the monitors, vigorously typing on the keyboard. Dr. Oliver was still amazed at her computer skills. He couldn't even hack into their own system after he forgot the password a few months prior. "I'm in," she said, the Marine Corps logo displayed on the screen.

"Forty-seven seconds, that's a new record," Ethan announced.

"Thanks, Ethan." Hayley entered the information on Cain's dog tag including his name and social security number in the database's built in search engine. "Damn," was all that she could say when happening on Cain's file. A picture was displayed in the top left of a man with dirty blonde hair in a crew cut, clean shaven, deep brown eyes, and wearing a Marine's dress uniform.

"He doesn't even look like the same person," Conner commented. "Look how long the list goes of stuff about him."

Dr. Oliver skimmed the dossier in disbelief. "He was an officer, a captain at that. That's an achievement in itself for someone his age, besides everything else in this file."

"Captain Dominic Lawrence Kane was enrolled in military schools since a young age, as insisted by his father, Major General Lawrence Nathaniel Kane (deceased) and graduated at the top of his high school class," Hayley read. "He attended the United States Naval Academy for college and moved to the Naval Postgraduate School where he received a Master's of Science in Applied Physics with a weapons concentration and minored in Chemistry, where he acquired a Bachelor's of Science. That sure explains a lot."

"Only a few months after being enlisted, he was screened to join the Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance division. He was assigned to the renowned Second Reconnaissance Battalion, Alpha Company. The training alone for this section of the military is extensive, much less the additional training he signed up for. His specialty while there was close quarters combat," she continued. "Several missions are listed, but most of them are black operations so the details are classified even to me. During his time there he moved through the ranks of corporal, sergeant, staff sergeant and was promoted to lieutenant. Soon after he was screened yet again, this time for MARSOC (United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command) and received more specific training including means of irregular warfare and advanced language training."

"I think knowing six languages other than English goes far past advanced," Conner interrupted. "I mean look at these; Spanish, French, Russian, German, Arabic, and Mandarin. How could all of those possibly be necessary?"

"Well, minus German, the other five including English are the six official languages of the United Nations, so it makes sense he was taught them," Kira answered. The others looked at her confused. "My uncle is a general in the Marines, so I know a few things about this kind of stuff. He's fluent in the official European languages, but not Arabic and Mandarin Chinese."

"It says here he was the most talented sniper in his training course. After training he was recruited for the Marine Special Operations Team, which only consists of fourteen men. While on the team he was promoted to first lieutenant and then to captain. He later took the former captain's place as leading officer of the team. His commanding officer up until he disappeared was General Johnathan Gregory Ford," Hayley trailed off, turning her attention to Kira.

"No way," she gasped. "Wait a minute, this makes complete sense, why didn't I see it before?"

"Kira, what are you talking about?" Trent inquired.

"I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but Cain had a tattoo of a spear head on his right arm. I didn't think anything of it at first, but now I can't believe I let myself miss the meaning behind it."

"I've seen it," said Hayley. "What is the significance?"

"It's the symbol for the Marines' Special Operations Command, my uncle has the same tattoo on his chest, except his has the Latin motto circling it."

"Small world, huh?" Ethan sarcastically asked.

"Hayley, can you access details on Cain's last mission before Mesogog kidnapped him?" asked Dr. Oliver.

"I'll check, hold on a minute. No go, it was a special reconnaissance black ops mission, I can't access it. The only detail that was released about it was that Cain went missing in the midst of it. That's odd…"

"What?"

"It says it was a recon mission, but was also a direct action and implemented unconventional warfare."

"What the hell does that even mean?" asked Conner.

"If it concerned Mesogog, it means a lot. Is the location under wraps too?"

"Yup, as is the objective of the mission. Kira, is there any way you could ask your uncle about this?"

"He's like a brick wall, so I doubt it. Whenever I ask about work he changes the subject, and it's rare that I talk to him at all," she replied. "But as for the mission categories, the mixture of those is code for 'some serious shit went down'."

"What do the Marines classify as 'serious shit'?" questioned Ethan. "A huge war isn't serious?"

"Let me clarify. Special Forces aren't usually associated with major wars. In retrospect, their work can prevent or end them. They deal with situations that others can't, which is why they get years of training. I've heard rumors of them dealing with the same stuff we do, you know, monsters and whatnot. There are things are a lot worse than what terrorists can do, and that's a prime example."

"So the probability that Mesogog was involved is pretty high," interjected Dr. Oliver, reentering the conversation.

"Exactly."

"This is all so much to take in. I still can't believe that the Cain we know and the one on the screen are the same person," Ethan pointed out. "Sure, a lot of it fits, but still."

"I see what you mean. He wasn't kidding when he said he was full of surprises," Trent chuckled. "Nor when he said if he told us where he was before he got nabbed he would have to kill us."

"Come on, guys, it's getting late and you have school tomorrow. I know a lot happened today, but try not to lose any sleep over it," Dr. Oliver stated, trying not go revisit the details. He focused for a split second on Kira at these words. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Hayley waited until the Rangers were gone to say anything to Dr. Oliver. "So I assume you aren't sleeping tonight."

"I can't believe I let this happen, Hayley. I could have done something differently, I could have…" He was too frustrated to even speak, and clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. He swung around and punched the wall in anger, leaving a considerable hole behind.

"Tommy, you need to calm down…"

"How can I calm down? Cain is dead, Hayley!" he exclaimed, his voiced echoed around the lab. "Finding out he was a decorated officer doesn't make the matter any better either, it makes it one hundred times worse. He was invaluable, and has accomplished more than any of us could dream of."

"You can't blame yourself, there was nothing you could do."

"That's the point! There was nothing I could have done. I couldn't even save him after Zeltrax left, he was already gone."

"I know, Tommy, I know," she said comfortingly, embracing him in a hug, trying to get him to relax. She was tearing up herself, and she could tell Dr. Oliver was on the verge of doing so. "We were closer than you thought. He kissed me, and I returned the gesture willingly," Hayley smiled.

"I figured something like that happened, I'm surprised more didn't happen between you two. It's not just the way he looked at you I noticed, you looked at him the same way, lovingly. Your eyes shined brighter as did his. Well in his case, they glowed," he joked. "I'm so sorry, Hayley, I wish I could have—"

"We're not going back to this. I'm heading home. I'll see you later."

"See ya."

* * *

Hayley made her way home about a half hour later. She unlocked the door and tossed her keys into the bowl on the table near the door as always. At this point dinner was out of the question, she was still incredibly nauseous. She passed the kitchen and walked through the living room in order to get to her bedroom. Cain's shirt was still lying on the couch where she left it days earlier. She couldn't bring herself to touch it, much less it move it.

Moving to her bedroom, Hayley quickly changed into her pajamas, turned out the light and crawled into bed. She knew that she would be unable to sleep, it was inevitable. She also doubted the others would get any sleep either. Before leaving the lab, she hung Cain's tags on the main computer monitor as a monument of sorts. Her heart sank at the thought that he would never be around again. She finally let the tears flow that she had been holding back all day since Dr. Oliver gave her the news. After a while she thought that her tear ducts couldn't possibly produce any more, but they did. Several hours passed, but eventually sleep claimed her.


	10. Aftermath

AN: I don't own PRDT, just my OC.

If this seems like a filler chapter, you'd be right :) I felt like I needed a transitional chapter, even though some might not find it necessary. Please review! =]

* * *

"You know, I've always wondered what it would be like to spar with the great Tommy Oliver," Cain smirked, standing across from him.

"You're not going to take my head off are you, Captain?" Dr. Oliver smiled.

"No promises," he responded with a large grin, his canines were once again exposed.

They bowed to each other and assumed their stances. The pair side stepped in a complete circle, waiting for the other to make the first move. They lunged at each other simultaneously with a kick, neither of which made contact. Any attack one threw, the other blocked and countered it. It appeared that they were dancing rather than fighting, their moves were almost in sync with each other. Cain became distracted for only a second, but it was enough time for Dr. Oliver to land a blow to Cain's torso, slightly to the left of his stomach. He growled in pain and stumbled backward a couple steps.

"One to zip, Cain. We're going up to three points, right?" At the spot that Dr. Oliver struck Cain, his shirt turned dark red and was expanding fast. He dropped to his knees, clutching his left side. "Cain, what's wrong?"

"My…veins are…on fire…" he struggled to say between labored breaths and growls. With each movement he attempted to make the shots of pain grew stronger and gained distance across his body. Every heartbeat was more agonizing than the last as the tainted blood pumped through his veins.

"Cain, let me see," he said with concern, grabbing his arm. A wave of lightning burst from Dr. Oliver's hand and electrocuted Cain, sending him into a miniature seizure on the forest floor. He looked down at his hands, in utter confusion to what just happened. After his convulsions finally stopped, every muscle in his body tightened. Cain opened his mouth to roar in pain as Dr. Oliver assumed, but an actual human scream left it; something he had never heard come from him before. "What is it?" he desperately asked, trying not to touch Cain again, fearing that it would cause him more suffering. His chest ripped open and began bleeding as if something had impaled straight through him.

"Make it stop…" he gasped, straining himself to even keep breathing much less speak.

"I can't…I'm sorry. You're going to be fine, Cain," he lied. Cain continued to writhe on the ground while Dr. Oliver knelt at his side feeling completely helpless to what was going on. He couldn't do anything without severely hurting him. It was already his fault that he was wounded in the first place. Cain suddenly became still, his lungs no longer filled with air, and it was doubtful his heart was beating, but Dr. Oliver couldn't be sure without touching him. "Cain!" he shouted. "Cain!" He leaned down toward Cain's chest to see if he was able to hear a faint heartbeat, but had no such luck. "God damn it. This can't be happening…" Dr. Oliver held out a single finger and hesitantly poked Cain, testing to see if he would still shock him. Once sure that he could no longer do him harm, Dr. Oliver locked his fingers together and started compressions to Cain's chest, trying not to irritate his withstanding injury. After seeing no viable results, Dr. Oliver hammered Cain's chest in anger. "No!" he screamed.

Dr. Oliver shot up out of bed covered in sweat and was breathing heavily; his alarm clock had been smashed into several pieces spread all over the bedside table and the floor below. He wiped his brow and looked down to see the remains of his former clock. "Shit," he muttered, traversing to the opposite end of the room to the dresser to find out the actual time by looking at his watch. After quickly jumping in and out of the shower, he put on his dress shirt, tie, and slacks for work; dreading the difficult day ahead.

* * *

All five Rangers were unusually quiet when Dr. Oliver entered the classroom, Kira in particular. Her eyes were locked on the paper she was scribbling on, while the others' wandered the room, occasionally giving one another a quick glance. He adjusted his glasses, taking one last look at his notes for that day's lecture.

"Dr. Oliver, what did you do to your hand?" Cassidy asked, noticing his bruised knuckles.

"It's nothing, just an accident." The Rangers simultaneously shot him a look of concern and disbelief that he returned with a stern one. "All right, what do you guys know about Velociraptors?"

"Aren't those the wickedly smart dinosaurs from Jurassic Park?" Devin questioned. "Yeah, they would travel in packs and they communicated with each other all the time so they could hunt better."

The class burst into laughter at Devin's explanation. "Hollywood would have you believe that, but an actual raptor is far less interesting," he smiled. "Velociraptors aren't all that intelligent either. The creature portrayed in the movies that they pass off as a Velociraptor is actually called a Deinonychus; at least that's the closest thing I could compare it to size and character wise."

"A Velociraptor is a genus of the dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately seventy-five million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period," Dr. Oliver continued. "Their common ground was located in Asia, namely in the Mongolian region where the first fossils were discovered in 1922. _Velociraptor mongoliensis_ is the most common of the raptor species and has been studied most extensively. Though they may only reach two feet in height, raptors can grow up to seven feet long with most of the length coming from their tails. One thing the movies did get right is the Velociraptor's second digit on either foot with an extended claw. The sickle-shaped claw can grow up to almost three inches long and was used as a predatory device, most likely to deliver the final blow to its prey. Velociraptors aren't reptiles like other dinosaurs; they're warm-blooded and are covered in feathers, even having wings but not the ability to fly because of their size and weight. Paleontologists reported the discovery of quill knobs on a well-preserved _Velociraptor mongoliensis_ from Mongolia, confirming the presence of feathers in this species. Modern birds such as the parrot and pigeon among others are said to have evolved from the Velociraptor."

"So the Velociraptor was basically an aggressive, flightless bird?" asked James, a varsity football player who sat in the back of the room.

"Pretty much," Dr. Oliver replied. "Knowing all of this, what can we assume about its social and predatorial behavior?"

"That Velociraptors would kill small dinosaurs because they're so small themselves," Ethan suggested.

"You would think that. However, raptors generally hunted what would be considered out of their league, taking down such large herbivores as the Protoceratops and Tenontosaurus. Going back to the movie comparison, it suggests that Velociraptors are strong pack hunters, but no such evidence has been found to prove this theory. A group of fossils has only been found once surrounding a Tenontosaurus carcass, but that probably meant that they were merely feeding together, not that it was mutually their prey."

"I think that's enough of a lecture for today," he sighed. "In your books there's further information on the origin of the Velociraptor and others in its order. It also goes into more detail about the evolution of the raptor into the aviary creatures you see today. I'm going to make a quick trip to get a cup of coffee."

Dr. Oliver made his way to the teacher's lounge only to find the morning's coffee already consumed. He prepared another batch, massaging his right hand while he watched the liquid slowly drip into the pot. It didn't hurt this much until Cassidy brought it up, he was trying not to think about it.

"Rough night?" Mrs. August asked, entering the lounge.

"You could say that. Rough week is more like it," he sighed.

"What happened?"

"A friend of mine, a soldier, was killed in action yesterday."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Tommy. I'm sure he was a great soldier and an even better man," she comforted, rubbing her hand along Dr. Oliver's back.

"Thanks, Molly."

"Any time. I'll leave you then, it looks like you need the alone time."

He smiled in appreciation and nodded as she grabbed her sandwich out of the fridge and traveled back to her own classroom that was presently empty because this was her planning period. He rested his head on his left hand, keeping his right flat on the table to avoid aggravating it further.

"Shouldn't you be in class, Dr. Oliver?" Principal Randall's irksome voice echoed from behind him. "That is your job, you know."

He looked up, gritting his teeth at the very sight of the woman. "Yes, I'm fully aware of that. I ran for some coffee, but the pot was empty. I needed to make another one."

"Am I to understand that you left your classroom full of delinquents unattended just so you could get coffee?"

"They're not delinquents, they're teenagers, practically adults. I trust them."

"Have you ever considered that you're too trusting of people, Dr. Oliver?"

"I trust those who have given me proof that I should. No one else."

"Fair enough. Well for being so trusting you can cover detention for me today. I have something to attend to and you're just the right person for the job," she wickedly smiled. "By the way, I overheard what happened to your soldier friend. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten involved in such a dangerous line of work." She gave a smirk and strutted out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Dr. Oliver slammed his fist onto the counter and increased his pain tenfold, completely forgetting about the injury he sustained the night before. "Son of a bitch…" he swore, clutching his hand. Without even realizing it, he cracked the counter all the way back to the wall. He used his left hand to pour the coffee into his mug and struggled to hold it still with the other. "Well any hope of using this hand today is officially gone." It wasn't the nurse's office, but the lounge had certain first-aid supplies including an ace bandage that Dr. Oliver carefully wrapped his hand in.

When he returned to the classroom, Dr. Oliver was surprised to find less than ten paper balls scattered on the floor. A majority of the students were actually doing the assignment he gave before leaving. Conner would usually jump at the chance to slack off in class, but like the other Rangers, he was lost in the textbook.

"I know it's a little sudden, but you guys can go ahead and leave. I'm dismissing you early." Everyone but the Rangers fled from the room as fast as their legs could take them. After the room was clear they immediately approached Dr. Oliver.

"So what really happened to your hand?" Kira asked. "You obviously made it worse on your coffee excursion or you wouldn't be wearing that."

He let out a deep sigh. "I blew off some steam last night without thinking, but it's fine. The wrap is just a precaution. I found it in the teacher's lounge and figured I would take advantage."

"I swear to God, everything in the free world is in the teacher's lounge," joked Ethan. "So we'll see you after school, Dr. O?"

"Not quite. Randall has me covering detention again today."

"Why does she hate you so much?" Conner asked.

"I have no idea, but I'm getting sick of her."

"Well see you later, Dr. O," said Trent, the others repeated after him with their own variation.

"Later."

* * *

Only being Monday, Dr. Oliver didn't expect to find many students in detention, but the staggering amount of three children made him think whether someone needed to cover it at all. James the varsity fullback and his girlfriend sat in the back of the room talking and another student whom he had never seen before was on the other end of the room buried in a thick book.

"James, what are you doing in here? What could you possibly have done between first period and now?"

"Principal Randall saw Sarah and I kiss goodbye after lunch in the courtyard and she gave us detention for public displays of affection," he explained, the girl next to him nodded in agreement. "It was such bullshit, it was just a quick peck because we were going to be late."

"Watch your language, James, I'm still your teacher even in here. What did you do to get yourself here?" Dr. Oliver asked, turning his attention to the other boy.

"I came out as the victor in an argument with Randall," he replied, his eyes still scanning back and forth across the pages of his novel.

"Care to elaborate on that?"

The teen closed his book with a smirk. "Randall came into my AP Government class earlier to observe and take notes like she always does every blue moon. She then decided to oh so rudely include herself in the debate at hand which centered around which form of government would be best suited for a Utopian society. Without thinking, or at least I hope she wasn't, she suggested that an autocracy with a dictatorial regime would be the best solution. Besides the obvious things wrong with her proposal, I said that her metaphorical city-state would eventually crumble due to being overthrown by its people as most other dictatorships have in the past. She came back saying that with enough governmental control her people would never unionize themselves to start a revolution to overthrow her. Though that may be possible, I explained that a system such as that isn't for the benefit of the commonwealth overall, and therefore not the best form of government to adapt. I proposed that a socialist republic would be best suited for several reasons; including the fact that capitalism, one of the main issues plaguing our society is out of the question. Socialism can be lightly described as a compromise between communism and our flawed democracy, and represents the interests of the working class instead of tailoring to the wealthy and powerful. She didn't say anything after that, she just walked out and gave me a detention slip in my next class."

Dr. Oliver stared blankly at the boy, trying to comprehend how someone his age could make such an informed proposal. Not since being friends with Billy in high school had he met someone so intelligent. "Impressive, even more so that you rendered Randall speechless. What's your name?"

"David McAvoy, sir."

"Nice to meet you, David. How is it that I've never seen you in any of my science classes?"

"I have AP Biology with Slater instead."

"Understandable. What grade are you in?"

"I'm a freshman, sir."

"Really? And you're jumping into advanced placement so early?"

"Yes, sir. I plan to go to MIT when I graduate and major in Biochemistry so I figured I would take all the AP classes offered here. I have AP Chemistry and Calculus AB next year."

"With that schedule I assume you have the credits to graduate early."

"Yeah, I do. I can leave after my junior year."

"That's very ambitious of you, Mr. McAvoy. My friend Hayley and I both graduated from MIT. I guarantee you'll do great there."

"The owner of the Cyberspace?"

"Yes."

"I recollect her mentioning you attended college together. She's the only one I've ever found who could actually assist me in my experiments or homework," he smiled.

"Well I'm glad you two have been acquainted. You don't deserve to be in here, David, you can leave. That goes for the two of you as well," he said glancing over at James and Sarah. "Principal Randall is known for giving detentions for the tiniest of offenses, or things that aren't breaking any school rules at all."

"Thank you, Dr. Oliver," David replied, carefully placing his book into his bag.

"Yeah, thanks," James repeated.

"Hey, David, can you hang on a minute?"

"Sure thing."

"Just so you know, if you ever want to talk about anything, whether it be science or something personal, you can always come in here. Besides, I could always use you as a sub," Dr. Oliver joked.

"That's much appreciated, sir, but paleontology isn't exactly my strong suit, so I'll let you handle that," he smiled.

"Out of curiosity, what book were you reading earlier?"

"Plato's collected works, but at that moment I was on Book II of The Republic."

"You're too smart for your own good, David. It would be an honor to have you as a student."

"And you as a teacher, Dr. Oliver. Have a good afternoon."

"You too." Once David left the room he took the phone out of his pocket and sent a text message to his old teammate Billy with a wide grin on his face that read: _I just met a student who could have been your twin in high school._

A few minutes later his phone vibrated with Billy's response. _Oh really now? How so, Tommy?_

_ He's smarter than pretty much anyone I've ever met, in every advanced placement class the school offers, graduating early from high school to pursue a biochemistry degree from MIT, and leaves everyone speechless when he finishes explaining something. The most surprising part of all this is that he's only a freshman._

_ I'm flattered you would think so much of me as to compare the two of us. Who is this student of yours?_

_ He isn't my student, he was in the detention I covered today._

_ For what reason did he receive detention?_

_ The principal gave it to him after he won an argument about different types of government against her. She has a stick crammed so far up her ass it's ridiculous._

_ I see. I assume he was quite aggravated about being given detention for such an offense._

_ Actually, he found it pretty hilarious. He isn't as tightly knit as you, Billy._

_ I suppose that can be considered a good thing, I tend to over-think things._

_ Yeah, you do, but you couldn't change that even if you tried._

_ That is correct._

_ Okay, since I've got you here and considering how often you actually answer my messages, I want to ask you something. What do you know about the military's involvement in our affairs?_

_ Well as you know Eric and Wes are part of a militaristic unit that aids the Rangers from time to time, as well taking care of minor incidents._

_ That's not exactly what I meant. I was referring to the United States' military, namely the Marine Corps' Special Operations division._

_ Can't say that I have, but I will look into it for you._

_ Thanks, man. You're still the best._

_ Much appreciated, Tommy. I will contact you when I acquire the information you seek.

* * *

_

Trent pulled up to the Ford residence around four that afternoon, he and Kira were supposed to "study" together. He knocked on the door five times and Kira's mother was the one who came to the door, who was assumed to be at work at this hour.

"_Damn_," he thought, but suddenly switched his tone to one more polite when he spoke. "Hello, Mrs. Ford, is Kira home?"

"Good to see you again, Trent. Yes, Kira is upstairs, but she might be taking a nap."

"Thanks." Trent tried to go up the stairs as quietly as possible. The last time he woke Kira from a nap he ended up getting punched, even though he just accidentally knocked something over. He slowly opened the door to find Kira snuggled up in a ball on top of her comforter. Trent smiled as he crawled onto the bed next to her, moving a stray hair out of her face as she slept. She squirmed at his contact, which brought a smug grin to his face. He noticed that Kira was grabbing her comforter, clenching it tightly in a fist, and was mouthing something that he couldn't interpret. "Kira," he whispered. "Kira, it's time to wake up." Trent lightly rubbed her shoulder in order to gently wake Kira. His tactic, however, was ineffective.

Her entire body tensed as she grasped the blanket even tighter. "No…" she mumbled.

"Kira, come on, please wake up," he began to shake her.

"Please…don't…"

"Kira!" She twitched awake at the volume of his voice shouting her name and looked over to him with a vacant expression. Trent placed his arms around her and she followed suit seconds later. "Talk to me," he whispered.

"I watched him die right in front of me…I can't get it out of my head."

"I know, we all did."

"You don't get it," she pulled away. "You didn't see how much pain he was in, all that blood…there was nothing I could do to stop it."

"Stop blaming yourself, Kira. A weaker man would have died instantly, but Cain fought to keep us alive. One person can only take so much, I suppose. I guarantee that if we were able to ask him, he wouldn't have done anything differently."

This time Kira was the first to hug Trent. They locked in their embrace silently, but no more words were necessary.

* * *

"You know, Dr. O, I would call that hole in the wall a hell of a lot more than just blowing off some steam," remarked Conner as Dr. Oliver entered his lab and pointed at the hole in the stone slab. He simply smiled and shrugged in response.

"Let me see your hand, Tommy," Hayley ordered.

"It's fine, Hayley. You worry too much."

"Considering it's you we're talking about, that's impossible."

"Very funny. Have you guys ever met a freshman by the name of David McAvoy?"

"Yeah," said Ethan. "He's in my Algebra II Honors class. That kid is smart as hell, he does everything in his head like it's nothing, even trig. Why?"

"He had detention with me this afternoon and he left an impression; just wondered if you knew him."

"What could he have done to get detention? He's usually so quiet. All he does is read and work."

"He got into an argument with Randall and won, so she gave him detention for it."

"She would pull something like that," Trent interjected.

"David comes into the Cyberspace all the time just to talk," Hayley stated. "He never ceases to amaze me with the things he says. He's always tinkering with something, even when we're in the middle of a conversation."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he had a secret lab in his basement too," laughed Conner. "Are you all right, Kira? You seem kinda quiet over there."

"I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind," she replied, taking a quick glance at Trent. "AP national exams are coming up in a couple months."

"Right, I forgot you were taking a couple of those."

"Yeah, Econ and Music Theory. It's the first one I'm worried about."

"You'll do fine, Kira," Ethan reassured.

"Thanks, she responded softly.

After a couple more hours of conversations the Rangers slowly began to head home one by one with Kira and Trent being the only two besides Dr. Oliver remaining down in the lab. Hayley had left long before that to take care of a few things at home. Trent's phone vibrated and with a sigh he answered. "Hey, Dad," he greeted, stomping up the stairs, agitated that his father calling so late. The growing frequency of these calls was getting on his last nerve.

"I know damn well that those exams aren't what's really bothering you, Kira. What is it?" asked Dr. Oliver, taking a seat next to her.

"I don't want to talk about it, Dr. O."

"It's about Cain, isn't it?"

There was an extended, silent pause before Kira opened her mouth to answer, but even then she hesitated. "I can't stop thinking about what happened…I can't get the images out of my head no matter how hard I try. I've been having nightmares about it."

"I'm sorry. Coincidentally, so have I," he sighed. "Hopefully over time the after effects of his death will lessen and eventually disappear altogether."

"Thanks, Dr. O, I hope so too for my sanity's sake."

"No problem, Kira. I hope it's soon, my alarm clock fund is getting low. I smashed one this morning during the dream, and that isn't the first time something like this happened either."

"Seriously?"

"Shit happens," he smiled, escorting her back upstairs since Trent would be off the phone soon, and it was getting late. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kira."

She nodded, "See you then, Dr. O."


	11. Revelation

AN: I don't own PRDT, just my OCs.

Yes, I know, another short, filler-like chapter, but this one has a bit of significance; I felt like David should be more involved in some respect. I also felt as if more things should happen before the next big event, and to not just throw it at you after Cain's death.

Please read and review!

* * *

Around three o'clock in the afternoon was always the busiest time for the Cyberspace with all the schools being let out an hour before, and by this time a majority of the clubs had let out as well. The never-ending traffic of teenagers wouldn't let up until near closing time that evening, around ten. Hayley had let Trent off early because he seemed exhausted, even though he protested.

"Trent, it'll be fine, there are only three other people here, and they're almost done."

"You sure?"

"Of course," she said leaning in to whisper something else into his ear. "Besides, if they're not done in five minutes, I'll just kick them out. I'm tired as hell."

"Right," he chuckled. "I'll talk to you later, Hayley."

"Bye, Trent."

Her last patrons packed up their belongings a few minutes to ten and left, leaving the café desolate. Hayley went around the room picking up stray glasses and plates scattered about when she heard the double doors open.

"You're not closed yet, are you?" David said with a grin.

"Not quite," she smiled. "Come on in, David." He took a seat at the bar and put his messenger bag on the counter next to him. "Weren't you here earlier?"

"Indeed I was, I bought a smoothie if my memory serves me correctly, and would greatly appreciate another one. However, being the time it was, I couldn't talk to you privately, so I decided to return before you closed up for the night."

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing like that, I assure you. My visit is more for your benefit rather than my own."

"And how's that?"

"I've been doing some thinking over the past few days since my detention with Dr. Oliver. See, I've had a running theory for a few months now, even going as far back as the first day of school. My talk with him, along with several others with you, and my other observations throughout my time here has brought me to a conclusion that I simply can't ignore."

Hayley tensed as she was mixing another smoothie for David. "What conclusion would that be?" she asked, turning around. He reached into his bag, pulling out a small metal box with a combination lock holding it shut. David inputed the combination and turned the box around, waiting for Hayley to open it. "What is this?"

"Just open it."

Her hand hesitantly moved to the lid of the box, slowly lifting it open, revealing a weapon inside; a sleek, metal laser, a rather complicated one at that. "David…"

"I noticed Dr. Oliver attempting to decipher your calculations and formulas for the COIL laser you were planning to build when I was in detention," he smirked. "I myself find flaws with aqueous-based lasers, so I built an all gas-phase iodine laser for you. AGILs like the one before you use an amine-based chemical reaction of chlorine atoms with gaseous hydrazoic acid which result in excited molecules of metastable nitrogen trichloride and pass their energy to the ground state iodine atoms. The output operates on the electronic transition of atomic iodine at the wavelength of 1.315 µm. Because of the gaseous chemicals used, the laser has a lighter weight overall and has heat rejection in the exhaust. The continuous-wave laser output of fifty megawatts with forty percent duty factor is obtained from a stable optical resonator consisting of two reflective mirrors. The order of the injection nozzles is crucial in suppressing the potentially unstable reactions. Though generally used for a continuous particle beam, I also took the liberty and programmed it to implement short bursts as well, or 'shots'."

"David, this is incredible. Where did you get the materials necessary for all of this?"

"My father is the CEO of a local manufacturing company. I acquire all of my experimental materials from his plethora of warehouses spread throughout the area."

"So how long have you known about the Rangers and I?" she asked, slightly changing the subject.

A sheepish grin spread across his face. "A while, it wasn't that hard to figure out. I found it to be quite obvious actually, though my observational skills have been known to be greater than others I've encountered."

Hayley remembered that Cain said the exact same thing when he first met them, sitting in the very spot that David was. "How did you put it together?"

"I started noticing strange occurrences ever since this school year started. Creatures generating left and right, but considering this state's history, that shouldn't have been much of a surprise, nor when a team of Power Rangers turned up to fight them. At first I hadn't intended to find out the identities of the Rangers, but I couldn't ignore the signs," he explained. "I initially found this to be irrelevant, but I found it to be very odd that a doctor of paleontology such as Dr. Oliver would be teaching general science at a high school in California, which raised my first suspicions. The original three Rangers; Red, Blue, and Yellow were assumed to be teenagers as all other Rangers in the past have been. Conner McKnight, Ethan James, and Kira Ford; three individuals who would ordinarily have nothing in common began to be in each other's company at an alarmingly constant rate. I saw that they had matching bracelets, each with a different colored stone encased in it, and that the three always wore clothes to match. Some time later when I was reading in the corner over there, I noticed Dr. Oliver sported the same bracelet, this time with a black stone, which brought me to the conclusion that considering Dr. Oliver's age, he was their mentor, or leader of sorts. It didn't take much to connect the dots that the four of them were indeed the Red, Blue, Yellow, and Black Rangers. Not to mention that these same individuals have a habit of frequently disappearing from school and other aspects of their lives. Your employee, Trent, I later figured to be the White Ranger, am I correct?"

"You hit the nail right on the head."

"It wasn't until recently though, did I discover your involvement with the Rangers. Granted hundreds of teenagers frequent the Cyberspace, but the five aforementioned individuals were here daily, if not more than once per day. A couple months ago there was an incident here; a sabretooth-like man and a cyborg came bursting through the glass wall up front. All of the civilians in the café exited in a riotous fashion, including myself at some point, but who I thought to be the Rangers stood firm, not even flinching at the event, only further confirming my theory, yet neither did you. You simply moved closer to the others. Thinking back to our talks about your areas of expertise, I'm surprised at myself for not associating you with their activities earlier. Is it safe to assume that you in fact manufacture their morphers and weapons?"

"Very," she smiled. "Tommy and I worked a long time on them, but he doesn't have the engineering background that I do. You know, you're one of the few people to ever figure out the Rangers' identities. Though I admit the fact that they always wear the same color doesn't do much to mask it."

"That it doesn't. I hope I'm not being too forward by giving you this and revealing what I've learned."

"Not at all, David. I'm merely surprised you didn't say something earlier considering how long you've known."

"I suppose I was afraid of the reaction I would receive, however it went better than I expected. Well, I should be going. The bus comes again in about ten minutes and that's the last one for the night."

"I'm about done here, do you want a ride home? It's the least I could do, you just helped in a way that I can't even put into words. An engineer I may be, but a chemist I most certainly am not."

"Thank you, Hayley, it would be most appreciated. Would you like the instruction manual?" he smirked.

"It's not a problem, and no, I think I'm good." Hayley wiped down the last of the tables and set the dishwasher. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Hayley returned to the lab shortly after taking David back to his house, which was located on the southern end of town near the business district. She came down the stairs to find Dr. Oliver sitting in front of the monitors trying to manipulate a project of his own. "We have a problem, David knows."

"In retrospect, Hayley, making a list of what that boy doesn't know would be much easier than one comprising of what he does," he laughed.

"I'm serious, Tommy. David knows you're a Ranger, along with the others, and he also pinpointed my precise involvement in all of this."

"You're not kidding? How does he know?" Dr. Oliver asked, bolting out of his chair.

"He logically figured it out based on his observations. He made it sound so simple too. He said he first got suspicious of you," she said sternly, looking Dr. Oliver directly in the eye. "He said it was really odd how a doctor of paleontology was teaching science at a high school. Then he went on about how you guys disappear all the time and have matching bracelets, odd how there were five of them, and how everyone always wears the same color that matches the stone on said bracelet. He knew I was somehow involved from our talks about our interests, and when Cain and Zeltrax showed up at the Cyberspace I didn't leave like everyone else, I just made my way over to you guys."

"That's a rational deduction, he's very observant. He was bound to figure it out eventually. What's that?" he questioned, pointing at the metal box Hayley was still carrying.

"This is the actual reason David stopped by the café this evening. He wanted to wait until we were alone so he could hand it over, and he knew I would hound him about his intentions for it." She put the case on the desk next to the keyboard ad opened it, taking out the weapon and showing it to Dr. Oliver, whose mouth hung open. "He built this after seeing my plans and formulas you were going over during the detention you covered with him. He called it an all gas-phase iodine laser, and said the one I planned was flawed in the sense that it used aqueous chemicals rather than gases. It's infrared just like the one Cain mentioned and the one I was going to build, but this is far superior than anything I could have done, and he created it in a matter of a few days."

"How did he do all this?" His eyes reflected the metal of the weapon as he rotated it in his hand, exploring its intricate details.

"He said he got everything he needed from his father's company, plus I'm sure he had some of the chemicals necessary already lying around."

"That kid's something else. I'll have a talk with him tomorrow about it. He has a responsibility now that he knows."

"He's known for a while now, and he would never tell anyone, Tommy, you know that."

"Yeah, I do, but I need to make sure of it. Not only that, he's at risk now as well. Mesogog would find him useful in more ways than one."

* * *

"From the look on your face, I assume Hayley came running to you after she dropped me off last night," David remarked as soon as Dr. Oliver closed the door after pulling him out of his government class with strong protest from Mrs. Scott during his planning period.

"Yes, she did. The weapon you produced is quite impressive, I must admit."

"Thank you, Dr. Oliver. I like to help whenever I have the ability to do so, whether the cause be superhuman or not."

"However," he continued, letting out a sigh, "I need you to stay out of this. Getting you involved in this mess is the last thing I would ever want for you. You have a bright future ahead of you, helping us would only compromise that."

"That's very flattering, Dr. Oliver. I thought you would be more concerned about me announcing it to the entire town."

"You're smarter than that, David, it barely crossed my mind as a concern."

"I appreciate that you would care so much for someone you met just days ago. If you find it best that I stay out of the way, I will without question. Your argument is a logical one, after all."

"Thanks for not taking this the wrong way. It saves me a lot of trouble and a long lecture," he smiled, looking away. "You remind me a lot of a couple friends of mine, your interests and intelligence especially."

"And who would those be?"

"One of my best friends Billy, a fellow Ranger, he's the smartest guy I've met in my entire life. The other is a man named Cain, a soldier. He suggested the chemical laser idea to Hayley in the first place."

"What became of the soldier? Is he a Ranger as well?"

"No, he died in the line of duty."

"I am sorry to hear that. Well, if you'll excuse me, Dr. Oliver, I should be getting back to class, I have a presentation to give."

"It's no problem, David. Just so you know, my offer still stands that if you ever need to talk, my door is always open."

"Thank you, sir. I shall keep it in mind."

Dr. Oliver shut the door behind David and looked back to his desk with an exhausted look. He slowly came to the realization that the mountain of papers before him wouldn't be entirely graded by the time his free period was over, so he decided to take an early lunch instead.


	12. Rise From The Ashes

AN: I don't own PRDT, just my OC, Cain. Nor do I own the movie Alien vs. Predator. The only reason I picked it is because it was a highly popular action movie in 2004 when PRDT took place. Just another popcorn movie for entertainment purposes.

The motto that Cain recites is actually for a small division of force reconnaissance, but the real motto for special forces wasn't high enough on the "bad ass meter" for me, which is "Always Faithful, Always Forward." This one seemed more appropriate.

The latter half of this chapter was a little awkward to write, but I hope you all like it. Please read and review!

* * *

One month later…

"You know, guys, I have a perfectly good television upstairs in the living room for watching movies on," Dr. Oliver stated as he entered his dark lab where the Rangers sat on the ground gathered around the computer.

"Come on, Dr. O, you have to admit that this is so much better of a viewing experience. There are nine monitors, and the acoustics in here are amazing, it's like you have surround sound," Conner pleaded, shoving more popcorn into his mouth.

"Yeah, and don't worry, if the alarm goes off, the movie will stop," Ethan added.

He sighed, knowing there was no possible way of winning an argument against five stubborn teenagers. "Whatever. What movie are you watching anyway?"

"Alien vs. Predator. It takes two of the most iconic monsters of the '80s and puts them together in one movie to kick the shit out of each other. The story is utter crap, but it's damn entertaining," explained Ethan.

"Right," he replied, rolling his eyes. He made his way over to Hayley who sat in the opposite corner of the room reading a book under the only remaining light. "Why did you let them do this?"

"Why not?" she smiled. "Lighten up, Tommy. Sometimes I think you forget that they're still teenagers."

"I'm fully aware that they are, trust me. Quantum mechanics?" he asked, looking down at Hayley's book.

"David dropped it off at the Cyberspace a few days ago, suggesting that I read it. He said it would be of much use to me by the time I finished it. There are places in the book where he's written little notes, some of them contradicting the author's work, others are simply additions."

"Nice." Dr. Oliver grew silent quickly as he noticed movement on the other side side of the room near the door and heard a loud creak even over the high volume of the Rangers' film. "Ethan, shut off the movie and turn on the lights. Now!"

Ethan scrambled over to the control panel, hitting the button that commanded the lights back to the on position and shot up rapidly, trying to figure out what Dr. Oliver found so urgent. He noticed the cave door begin to open, a look of bewilderment came to face. "Wait a minute, if we're all in here, then who the hell is out there to open the door?"

"Maybe the door's malfunctioning," Trent suggested.

"That's not possible, unless someone has tampered with it," responded Hayley.

The door opened further, but only darkness lay beyond it. Dr. Oliver moved to the front of the group, the Rangers standing ready behind him. He moved into a defensive stance, the others followed suit, preparing for the worst of who could be on the other side of the thick, stone door. Once the door was all the way open, a tall figure made its way out of the shadows and into the lab, a confident grin upon his face. "Expecting someone else, were you?" Cain sarcastically asked.

"Impossible…" Dr. Oliver gasped, slowly standing up straight. "How?"

"I thought it was common knowledge that felines had nine lives," he explained, giving a one-sided smile.

"How do we know it's really you?" Conner asked. "You could be a goon in disguise or something."

"Fair enough. Ask me anything. Anything you believe that only I would know."

"What is your platoon's motto, Captain?" asked Kira, arms crossed.

"Swift, silent, and deadly, we who walk with shadows and skulls," he smiled.

"Definitely him, those words are straight out of my uncle's mouth."

"Welcome back," said Dr. Oliver, grabbing Cain's shoulder firmly. Kira came up to him next and he gave her a one-armed hug. The other boys went up individually to shake his hand.

"I believe these belong to you," Hayley interjected, holding up his tags. He slowly walked over, stopping not even a foot away. Cain lowered his head so she could put the tags around his neck once again, clanging together as they they dropped to his chest. He gave a faint smile that quickly faded as he looked into Hayley's tear-filled eyes. She hastily wrapped her arms around him and he did the same, trying his best to comfort her. He could feel a small spot on his shirt become damp from her tears, but he didn't seem to care.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere." The nod he felt against his chest was enough of an answer to satisfy him. She eventually let go, which he followed by lightly kissing her forehead. The Rangers looked at him confounded, he retorted by leering at them sternly.

"Coming back from the dead is a pretty neat trick," said Trent.

"Well, it isn't the first time. An even better trick is trying to get yourself out of a box six feet underground and make it up to the surface. Unnecessary, by the way, it was hell getting out of there."

"Our bad," Ethan muttered.

"What do you mean this isn't the first time? You've died before?" Dr. Oliver inquired.

Cain gave a short laugh before he responded, "Zeltrax killed me on accident once before. He didn't even bother to check if I still had a pulse or that I was breathing before he left my cell. I woke up the next day gasping for air tied to some odd contraption in Mesogog's lab."

"Do they know you can just spring back up out of your grave?" asked Conner.

"I would certainly hope not. Where's the fun in that?" he grinned.

"Cain, it's been over a month, where have you been?" Kira asked, her arms were still folded across her chest. "I know you came back from the dead and I'm sure it took a few hours to get out of the ground, but still."

"Whatever killed me doesn't just go away when I come back, you know. Healing takes time. I've never been poisoned or impaled with a blade that large before; those were interesting things to bounce back from."

"I'll bet."

"Well, can I assume that while I was gone you took the liberty to find out all there is to know about me? Considering that Kira addressed me as Captain and the question she asked, also how you came into possession of my dog tags."

"Yeah, quite a history you have there. You're a military man through and through," Ethan cut in.

"It would seem that way, Ethan. I never wanted this life, at least not at first, but it turned out to be what I'm good at."

"I can see why you would hide your military history from us, most of it is classified after all," Dr. Oliver began, "but why change your name to something so similar?"

"I wasn't the one who changed it," he sighed. "That was the name Mesogog gave me. I'm sure if you think hard enough you'll find the irony and truth in it. Needless to say, he found it incredibly hilarious. Didn't really think that thing even had a sense of humor."

Dr. Oliver nodded, not going into any further details. The other Rangers didn't know about Cain's family, and he wanted to keep it that way. They knew better than to ask too purging of questions when it came to Cain. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did your last mission entail?"

"Funny you should ask that."

"What makes it so funny?"

"Because you were involved. Perhaps not directly, but still involved nonetheless. You should really learn to clean up your messes, Tommy," he scowled.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Whether you remember or not, we've previously met. When you and Dr. Mercer first established your experimental island together, the government became concerned and sent my team to investigate your intentions. At that time of course I was only a lieutenant, second in command under Captain Zachary Wilson. Your partner took a particular interest in me, if I'm not mistaken," he explained, quickly glancing over at Trent. "Wilson was convinced that your experiments were deemed safe, even though I advised him otherwise. Unfortunately, I couldn't disobey his orders and he signed off on your projects."

"Why didn't you want him to sign off on them?"

"You shouldn't screw around with nature, Oliver, I'm living proof of that mistake. After your island was destroyed by Mesogog, there was no sign of your work to be found. About a year ago, our systems picked up an unexplained, significant energy spike emanating from the island, and we were immediately deployed. This time, I was the captain in charge, the mission was mine to command."

"The entire place was in ruins, no life to be found whatsoever…at least that's what we thought. At first we were unable to locate what caused the energy spike, but when we reached the center of the island it became very clear. A horde of mutants and Tyrannodrones stood, waiting for us, with the creature I would soon know as Zeltrax at the lead. We fired round after round at the creatures, but needless to say bullets were ineffective. We even tried our silver nitrate filled and explosive rounds, but even that had little effect. They started picking off my men one at a time. Zeltrax had me set as a target from the start. I shot him right between the eyes, and through the heart, or at least where I assumed those things to be, but he just laughed. He fired a lightning bolt at me, sending me across the field and to the ground. All of my nerves were on fire, but I managed to pull out my knife and I jabbed him in the neck, where his armor was weakest, driving it in to the hilt. He zapped me two more times, each one grew in intensity, then I felt nothing. Next thing I know I'm strapped to an exam table."

"That sucks, dude," Conner commented.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" he growled.

"Why does every adult I know get on my ass about saying that? It just comes out most of the time."

"It's a matter of respect, Conner," replied Dr. Oliver with a smile, knowing that it must anger Cain more so than him to be called 'dude'. The Rangers were likely part of a fairly small group of people who didn't refer to him as 'sir'.

"So what do we call you now? Cain, Dominic, Dom, what?" asked Ethan.

"I would prefer that you stuck with Cain, for the time being anyway."

"No problem…sir," Conner added on at the end, still marginally afraid of Cain's reaction, to which he just smiled in response.

"What was all that ruckus I heard a minute ago? Strange noises, screams, sounded like someone was being killed in here."

"We were watching Alien vs. Predator," explained Ethan. "Quite the spectacle, if you ask me."

"I'm sure it is."

"Do you want to finish it with us? I could catch you up with the story in less than thirty seconds."

"Sounds like an amazing offer, but I think I'll pass."

"Your loss." Ethan lowered the lights once again, the others sat around the monitors in presumably the same spots as before.

"We need to talk later," Kira mouthed before taking a seat between Trent's legs, leaning back into him.

Cain nodded and turned around back toward Hayley and Dr. Oliver, who gestured him over back to their corner. "Looks like things haven't changed much around here."

"You'd be surprised," Dr. Oliver replied.

Hayley's stomach was in knots, she had to force herself to leave before she vomited all over the lab floor. "I'm going to head home, I forgot a few things that I need to take care of," she stammered, rushing up the stairs.

"You should go too, Cain. She needs you right now. Hayley took you dying the hardest out of any of us. Now that you're back…"

"I know," he sighed. "I'll meet her there. Her car still hasn't left yet, so I have a few minutes." Cain looked over at Dr. Oliver, noticing a line of indentations in his neck. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to, I swear."

"I get it, and it's all right. I'm just thankful part of you was still in there, or we'd all be dead for sure. Going over that situation again in my head, I realize what could have happened and it scares me to death."

"Yeah," Cain quietly replied, running a hand down his face, "me too."

* * *

Cain figured it would be best to enter through Hayley's front door rather than jumping up through her living room window like he normally would. He received several strange looks from other tenants in her building as he headed up the stairs to the sixth floor. "Hayley?" he called as he managed to get the door unlocked and opened. He sniffed twice, he knew that she was still in the apartment.

She emerged from her bedroom, a faint smile appearing on her face when she laid her eyes on Cain. "I put your bed back like it was," she said softly, picking his shirt up off an arm of the couch. "You left this here." She held it out toward him, her hand shaking. Cain hesitantly grabbed it, placing the shirt slowly on top of the couch, and took her trembling hand in his own.

"Hayley…" She snatched her hand away and smacked his chest, pushing him away. He loudly groaned in pain, taking a step backward. His left hand stiffly gripped the couch, his claws digging into it, and his right clenched his torso.

Her eyes widened, she suddenly realized where she had hit him. "Cain…I'm so sorry…"

"I-It's okay," he stuttered, breathing heavily. "Still sensitive I guess."

"Let me see," she demanded, giving him a harsh, concerned look.

"I sense an ulterior motive, Miss Ziktor," he chuckled, leaning over in pain as he did so.

"Just shut up and take off your shirt," she weakly smiled.

Cain tried to lift his arms in order to remove his t-shirt, but buckled in his attempt. Instead, he used one of his claws to slice the material down the middle, and carefully slid it off. Her lips tightened at the sight of his two fresh scars, the most prominent being in the middle of his chest, a few inches long, just below where his tags rested at the top of his defined pectoral muscles. The other was small and still slightly circular, between where his left ribs ended and his waist began. It hadn't healed correctly, she assumed on account of the poison. Her mind flashed to the image of an arrow protruding from his stomach and Zeltrax plunging a sword deep into his chest, causing a tear to run down her cheek which she quickly wiped away. Dr. Oliver relayed the grim details of Cain's death merely two weeks ago, only because she had asked, and it took everything she had to do so.

She lightly ran a finger down the line of pinched skin, looking up into his deep, brown eyes. Cain grit his teeth in order to hold back a hiss of pain as his muscles contracted from her soft touch. Hayley reached to cup his face in her hand, slowly stroking her thumb across his cheek. She gently pulled him down, amorously pressing her lips against his as he timidly grabbed her waist. They only separated for a moment when the need for air arose, but Cain quickly seized her lips again, he had become impatient. She wrapped her hands around his neck and he uttered a low growl as he deepened the kiss; his tongue playfully fought hers for dominance.

Cain's heart began to race from his arousal; he abruptly severed their connection and doubled over, stumbling backwards. He shuttered at the sudden wave of agony that brought him to his knees.

"Cain, what is it?" She was lucky to receive a growl in response as he clutched his chest. "Can you stand?" she asked as she let the moment pass, rubbing his back in small circles. He gave a slight nod, then she proceeded cautiously as she slowly brought him to his feet and directed him around to the pull-out bed. She kneeled in front of where he sat at the edge of the bed. Before she could ask again what was wrong, he instinctively took her hand and placed it over his heart. It was beating much faster than normal, even by his standards. She noticed an irregular pattern, it seemed to skip a beat every so often. She looked up at him once again, her heart broke upon seeing his pained expression. "Lay down, I'll be right back." She landed a soft kiss on his lips before heading to her bathroom and returned a few moments later. "Take these," she said, offering him the pills in her hand. "They'll cut the pain down and hopefully put you to sleep too, if you're lucky." Cain reluctantly sat up, took the small white pills out of her hand and popped them into his mouth, swallowing nearly half the water bottle Hayley had also given him.

Cain laid back down, trying to keep his overall movement to a minimum and settled into a position he found to be comfortable on his back. Hayley took a seat next to him on the bed, looking over every few seconds out of worry. "Are you just going to sit there for the rest of the night and watch me?" he asked weakly.

"At least until I know you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"No, Cain, you're not. How can you honestly say that after what just happened?"

"Because this has happened before. Every now and then I get shakes or tremors from the first time, and that was just a few months ago. Like I said before, it just takes time. My heart and lungs are more of a concern than the pain."

"Zeltrax electrocuted you to death last time, didn't he? And what's wrong with them?"

"Yeah, he did," Cain reached over and pulled her down to his level, putting his arm around her. "When he stabbed me, the blade sliced through a little bit of my right lung, and damaged what I believe to be the right ventricle of my heart, making it difficult to breathe at times, and causing episodes like the one just now when my heart tries to pump more blood because I'm…excited if you will," he finished with a smile. "Besides, I'm sure my ticker still has some damage left over from the shocks."

Hayley curled into his muscular form, resting her head on his chest as well as her hand on his abdomen. Though she was careful not to come into contact with his wounds, a short, low growl of discomfort left him. "I just don't want anything else to happen to you. Lately it's like all I've seen you in is pain, whether it be from nightmares or injuries, and all I want is for you to be all right."

"I know," he softly replied, wiping away a tear that was about to roll down her cheek, planting a kiss in its place. "Thank you…for everything." His chest heaved upward as he let out a feral yawn resembling a lion's, bringing a humble smile to Hayley's lips. She could feel Cain's heart rate finally lax as he slowly drifted off into sleep.

Hayley was accidentally nudged awake as Cain shifted below her. She quickly glanced at the clock in the kitchen, the bright LED display read 2:13 AM. _Damn, must have nodded off a few hours ago_, she thought. While trying not to wake Cain, Hayley gently lifted his arm off of her and slowly slid off the bed; he didn't seem to notice her absence so it was safe for her to leave.

Twenty minutes later, she emerged from a much needed hot shower only to find the couch unoccupied and the adjacent window open. _There's no way he could have left, not like he was a while ago_. "Cain?" she asked, her voice slightly echoed.

"Hmm?" a deep voice responded from the dark kitchen.

"Cain, what are you doing up?"

"I got hungry," he said, putting a menagerie of things back into her refrigerator and handed her a plate with a sandwich on it. "I noticed you were too, I could hear your stomach growling."

"Did it wake you up? I'm surprised you don't sleep with earplugs considering how good your hearing is."

"No, I've just gotten used to it I guess. I woke up about an hour before you did. I think I'm the one who woke you up by trying to get comfortable again."

"It's no problem. What are you eating?"

"You know, I'm glad it's dark in here, because if you saw it you would likely be completely grossed out; and I'm not going to tell you either for the same reason."

"I shouldn't have asked," she smiled. "It's almost three, you should get back to bed."

"You know how I am with sleep. Those few hours should hold me for the next couple days." The grin he had splayed on his face slightly diminished when Hayley jokingly punched him the arm in frustration of his sleeping habits.

"Well I'm going to bed," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

"It already is the morning," he grinned.

"You know what I mean, so just—" Cain cut Hayley off by locking his lips onto hers in a passionate kiss as he pinned her against the refrigerator. His tongue playfully curled around hers when he deepened the kiss once again. Her hands slowly moved up his powerful torso, finally stopping around his neck. Soon after, the fingers on her right hand ran through the thick hair on the back of his head as they kissed more roughly. Cain's hand reached around to the small of her back and jerked her closer so that there was virtually no space separating them. He slowly released Hayley's lips, then made a trail of kisses down her neck; a small moan left her when Cain found a spot that made her knees weak. She could faintly hear a whimper and felt Cain stiffen up, bracing himself against the refrigerator. "Cain, are you all right?" she whispered. He didn't even have to say anything, she knew the answer when his hand moved from her back to his torso and a low roar erupted from deep within him. "It's going to be fine," she comforted, resting her forehead against his and cupping his face in her hands. "Just breathe, it'll pass." His grip on the refrigerator tightened as each time he inhaled brought another shot of pain to his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely.

"You don't have to apologize. It isn't your fault."

"I started it," he smirked, finally relinquishing his firm grip on the refrigerator door. He left a significant dent behind in the metal. "I didn't want to stop."

"I know," she replied, giving him a soft kiss on the lips. "Now if you don't mind, I'm actually going to go to sleep this time. Saturdays are hell at the Cyberspace. I'll see you later?"

Cain gave a silent nod, still reeling from the pain. He smiled as he watched her walk off into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.


	13. Talk

AN: I don't own PRDT, just my OC and the story ideas.

Sorry for not updating for so long, guys! I got ridiculously busy, and a horrible case of writer's block. Funny thing is I wrote the chapter that follows this before I finished this one, so that was holding me back a bit. Focusing on the pluses though, the next chapter should be up in a couple days! :D

As always, please read and review! It's highly appreciated.

* * *

Cain followed behind Hayley as they entered Dr. Oliver's home, this being only the second time he had used the front door to gain access to the lab. He walked past the kitchen, distracted by the smell of fresh ham emanating from within and came to an immediate stop near the lab entrance as he looked inside to find Kira standing at the counter preparing a sandwich.

"I'll be down in a few minutes, Hayley," he said anxiously, looking over in her direction.

"All right, just try not to devour all of Tommy's food. He hates it when you do that." She leaned up, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, pulling on the dinosaur statue's jaw.

"No promises," Cain smirked as she made her way down the steps. He slowly approached the kitchen and leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed; a little smirk graced Kira's lips as he did so.

"Well that certainly looked friendly," she commented with a hint of sarcasm, a sheepish grin came across Cain's face which she could see with her peripheral vision. "It's about damn time, too. The sexual tension between you two was ridiculous."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "So you wanted to talk?"

"Indeed I do. I totally called that you were the military type and I even mentioned that my uncle was a general, and you didn't even flinch."

"What can I say, it was a secret for a reason. Look, your uncle is more to me than just a commanding officer, he's a friend, perhaps even a father of sorts."

"A father?" Kira asked, looking over her shoulder so she could look directly at Cain.

"My father died twenty years ago, and even when he was alive, he was never really a dad. Being a soldier came first for him, nothing else was more important, not even his own family," he explained with a growl, his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles had turned white and the veins in his arms were significantly raised.

"That's terrible. Though, I'm pretty sure that's why Uncle John doesn't have any kids or even a wife. He was married a few years ago, but it didn't even last a year."

"He talks about you like you're his own though."

"So you knew about me before we actually met? That's a little creepy."

"I found it best that I not mention it."

"All right, I'll accept that. So, have we ever met before? You know, before all this, like you have Dr. Oliver."

"I haven't had the pleasure, no. He keeps a picture of you in his wallet though. It looks like it's from when you were around ten or so. You were holding his officer's sabre."

"I actually remember that. It was the first time I ever visited the base. I'd never seen him in his uniform before either outside of a picture," she grinned, thinking back. "Don't you have an officer's sabre as well? I know they're given to all sergeants when they're promoted."

"I do. It's one of my most prized possessions, as a matter of fact."

"So where is it?"

He pushed himself off of the door frame and walked over toward Kira, resting his hands on the counter with a sigh. "At home. My real home. Or at least what's left of the place."

"Cain, what is it that you aren't telling me?"

"Nothing," he muttered, glancing over to her with an artificial smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Look, I need you to trust me here, Cain. No matter what it is, you can tell me."

Cain just stood there and shook his head, not daring to make eye contact. The two remained silent for several minutes, Kira waited for what seemed like forever for Cain to speak, but he never did. She looked down at the counter, his claws digging into the granite beneath them. Although it was faint, she could see a thin, white line compared to the normally tanned pigment of the skin on Cain's left ring finger where a wedding band would have rested. From what she could tell the ring would have been there for several years, and now it was gone. _Cain was married?_ She thought to herself in disbelief. _Why hasn't he ever mentioned her? She must have been important to him if he's getting so choked up at the very mention of his old home. Then again, when has Cain ever told us anything outright?_

"I need some air," Cain snarled as he hurriedly walked over to the front door, slamming it in Kira's face when she tried to keep him from leaving.

"Son of a bitch," she swore under her breath. Kira rushed to the stairs leading to the lab, walking at a brisk pace past Conner, Ethan, and Trent who were in a corner deep in conversation, over to Hayley and Dr. Oliver at the computer monitors. "Cain is still hiding things from us," she said quietly, not to attract the attention of the boys.

"Why would you say that?" Dr. Oliver responded coolly.

"Did you guys know that Cain's married?" Both Hayley and Dr. Oliver immediately tensed at hearing Kira's discovery, Hayley more so.

"He told you that?" she asked.

"Like he ever would, no. While it's hardly noticeable, Cain has a tan line on his left hand where a wedding ring should be."

"Have you ever stopped to consider the possibility that his marriage didn't end so well, so he doesn't want to talk about it?" Dr. Oliver cut in.

"Yeah, I'd say so. He stormed out at the very mention of his old house. I couldn't tell whether it was in anger or what. He's pretty hard to read sometimes." Hayley and Dr. Oliver took a quick look at each other, but as Hayley was about to speak, Kira interrupted her. "You guys know what's going on with him, don't you?"

Dr. Oliver nodded. "It's only by some small miracle that we know. He told Hayley after your gig a while back and hasn't mentioned anything about it since, not even to her. All I can say is that it's very personal, and yes, it didn't turn out so well on his end. I'll be honest here, even if Cain was the sharing type, he would probably still keep this from us."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Look, if Cain trusts you enough, he might tell you one day, but I highly doubt it. He got extremely pissed at me for even knowing at all. Enough to tackle me through my own brick wall."

"So that's what you said to make him so angry, I was wondering."

"Yeah. I still have yet to fix it, but at this point, I might as well make another room since the wall deconstruction has already been taken care of." Kira cracked a smile in response, but it soon faded as the alarm in the lab started blaring. "Tyrannodrones," he announced with discontent. "Think you guys can handle them?"

"Sure thing, Dr. O," Conner replied, rallying together the others. "Oh…Kira, when did you get down here?"

She looked in his direction with a narrowed gaze and elbowed him in the ribs. "I've been down here for over ten minutes, you ass."

"Come on, you know that I barely pay attention to these things."

"Let's just go," she responded coldly, exiting the lab with the others at her heels.

"Why didn't you go with them?" asked Hayley.

"I'm going to try and find Cain, tell him, or more along the lines of warn him about what Kira knows now. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"Probably at home, the roof of the Cyberspace, or in the woods somewhere. But in reality, he could be anywhere, Tommy."

"Well, that certainly narrows it down," he sighed. "Just call me if the other Rangers need my help, all right?"

"Of course. Good luck."

"Thanks."

* * *

Reefside may not be a major city such as its neighbor, Los Angeles, but by no means does it not have its share of skyscrapers. The highest in Reefside is only forty stories in height, but being the highest point in the city is what caught Cain's eye. With his crate of liquor he recently acquired in hand, he made his way building to building leading up to what he later figured out to be Bank of America's corporate offices, and climbed the remaining ten stories up the corner of the structure.

He took a seat on the ledge facing the rest of the downtown area, then pried open his box, taking out a dark brown bottle. Cain easily twisted off the top, aiming to throw it in the fountain of the courtyard below. Putting the bottle to his lips, he took one big gulp, taking a quarter of the liquid volume of the container with him. _This stuff isn't near as strong as I remember it being_, he thought, taking another look at the foreign label.

"You're a hard man to track down," Cain heard from behind him.

"Is that so?" he inquired, taking another swig from his bottle, not even turning around to acknowledge his visitor.

"Yeah, you really are." Dr. Oliver sighed and took a seat next to Cain on the edge of the building, knowing he would have to be the one to lead the conversation, or else there wouldn't be one at all. Though he didn't exactly mind sitting with Cain in silence. "Where'd you get the beer?" he asked, looking over at the small crate.

"I was walking along the docks and I ran into a German ship importing my favorite brand. Last time I had it was on a trip to Germany about six years ago. I merely asked if I could buy some and I did. Knowing the language helps," Cain grinned. "Want one?"

"Sure," he smiled, taking the dark bottle Cain offered in his other hand. "Not like I'll be getting down from here anytime soon, much less driving. My car's parked a few blocks from here anyway." Dr. Oliver wasn't usually a fan of beer, or drinking at all for that matter, but he had to admit this was different from all other beers he'd previously indulged in. "This stuff's pretty good."

"Germany produces the best beer around."

"Kira told me about what happened earlier," he said softly, taking a drink, hesitant to change the subject. Cain didn't say a word, he remained silent, staring off into the city. "Cain…she knows you were married."

Cain suddenly froze, closing his eyes and taking a painful deep breath, his left hand clenched into a white-knuckled fist. "You told her?" he growled.

"No," Dr. Oliver reassured. "While you two were talking she noticed the tan line from where your wedding ring used to be." Cain's eyes slowly opened as did his tight fist, his gaze fixed on his ring finger. He moved his thumb over the thin, white line, caressing it as if the ring was still there. "She asked Hayley and I whether we knew what happened."

"And?"

"We said that your marriage didn't turn out so well and that you didn't want to talk about it."

Images and memories rushed into Cain's mind like a raging river, flooding his mind at a pace that made his head feel like as if it were going to explode. Images of his family erratically flashed back and forth between those of before and after Mesogog's interference. Cain saw him kissing his wife on their wedding day, the day their son was born, his first steps, their son's first birthday, and the last kiss they shared before he left for his final mission superfluously melded together with the sight of their bodies on the hard, cold floor of his cell, their blood strewn across the walls. The bottle in his hand shattered into hundreds of pieces from the constricting grip he had upon it. Cain held his head in pain as he attempted to shut the thoughts out but to no avail. Dr. Oliver was able to snap him out of it by calling his name, and intensively shaking his shoulder. Cain quickly glanced over to where the sudden contact came from, his eyes glowing, but they dimmed and settled to their normal chocolate brown when he realized that Dr. Oliver was the one sitting next to him.

Cain brushed the broken glass off of his hand and reached back to grab another beer, chugging approximately half of it down to try to calm his nerves. "Have you ever been married, Oliver?"

He looked over at Cain, surprised and overly thankful he was able to snap out of it so fast and was able to change the subject, and contribute to the conversation at hand. "I've never settled down, no. Not for any particular reason, it's just that I've never really had the opportunity. My only serious girlfriend and I broke up after she moved out of state. Sure there have been other girls, but she was always the one, you know?" Cain nodded then took another gulp of his beer, the bottle already almost empty. "If you don't mind me asking, Cain, what was she like?"

He was silent at first, but after a few minutes he opened up and gave a small one-sided smile. "Her name was Samantha, everyone always called her Sam though…" he paused, pulling himself together. "She was so beautiful, so perfect. Her eyes were the purest blue I've ever seen in my life. I always called her 'my little bird' because she had such an amazing voice. She used to sing Logan to sleep every night, and even as he got older he kept insisting on it."

"Your son?"

Cain nodded. "I would be deployed for months at a time, but she would always be there for me. And Logan…he looked just like me; he had Sam's eyes though. He was so innocent, so…" he choked on his last word, making it inaudible, then he fell silent, drifting back into his own thoughts.

"Thank you," Dr. Oliver said soothingly.

"For what?"

"Telling me all this. Normally you wouldn't have."

"As it should be," he said coldly, his expression changed immediately to one of anger. "I let my emotions get the best of me, the alcohol probably didn't do much to help that either. My father told me that emotions are for the weak…he was right." Cain quickly shot up, slugging down the last of his beer. "Keep the rest," he ordered, leaping to an adjacent building which was ten stories shorter than the one the pair were perched on. He rolled into his landing and continued traveling across the rooftops until Dr. Oliver could no longer see him in the skyline.

"I'm so sorry, Cain." he whispered to the air.


	14. Complications

AN: As always, I don't own PRDT, I shouldn't have to say this every time, but I don't want to be bitched at either so, I'll keep with it.

So, I think I've outdone myself length wise this chapter, and definitely in the realm of violence. Don't be angry with what I did, it just happened, I swear, but I got a good change in the story going that I don't think anyone would expect.

Please read and review! It's amazing encouragement to know that people are actually reading this...

* * *

A dastardly grin, if it could even be interpreted as that, quickly spread across Mesogog's disaster of a face. Moments later Zeltrax solemnly walked through the lab doors, approaching slowly, slightly afraid of the reason his master called upon him so abruptly.

"You beckoned for me, my lord?" he asked, all confidence in his voice had seemingly disappeared.

"Indeed I did, Zeltrax. I have a special task for you; one that I am firmly confident even a general of your caliber and limited intelligence can complete successfully."

Zeltrax didn't respond immediately, the rage from his master's insult built up within seconds, his hands involuntarily making fists at his sides. He knew that if a sly comment left his mouth, his insolence would be severely punished. "And what would that be?" Zeltrax inquired, trying his best to conceal his anger from his vengeful master.

"I have generated a new creature that I need you to take to Reefside to acquire something for me."

"Another mutation, my lord?"

"Not quite, Zeltrax. This is a beast of my own creation, rather than the combination of raw materials from other creatures." A whistle left his vocal chords that echoed throughout the lab. Zeltrax was surprised to hear the swift pattering of paws and the sound of multiple sets of claws scratching against the cold, rigid floor of the facility, approaching fast. The automatic doors of the lab opened to reveal a pair of scaly, dog-like creatures with demonic attributes, almost similar to the hellhounds of ancient lore. Mesogog held up his hand to signal their halt; they stopped immediately at his command. Their eyes were blood-red with a black coat, but at the sight of Zeltrax, the exterior color of the beasts changed to match the devilish eye color of the hounds; their growls and sight of their fangs sent Zeltrax reeling backward a couple feet. "He is not the one you are after, he is my general, and you will follow his orders as well as mine." The hounds' color returned to their normal black at his command, and they sat calmly awaiting their next order. "Zeltrax, return to Reefside and fetch me the body of Cain. That beast still holds use to me even in death. My new creations already know his scent, just be sure to keep up and deal with any complications that may arise. If you feel so inclined, let them take care of it. After all, they're always so hungry, now matter how much I feed them," he hissed as he patted the head of the beast who sat to his right.

"Of course, sir. I will do so right away."

"Do not fail me, Zeltrax."

* * *

"So is there any particular reason you dragged me out to the middle of the woods behind your house just to talk, Dr. O?" Kira asked somewhat sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure another room would have sufficed."

Dr. Oliver gave a slight, one-sided smile before responding, "I take privacy very seriously, plus I needed a walk. It helps me think." Though Dr. Oliver pushed this talk with Kira mere moments before, they walked at least another quarter mile in complete silence. "Shortly after Cain died and we read his dossier, I contacted my old friend Billy to investigate further into Cain and your uncle's activities on the Special Forces team."

"The original Blue Ranger?"

"The very same. Even though Cain told us just about everything that we asked of him, I was still curious to how long your uncle's team, and others just like it, have been involved in the monster fighting business that we've grown so accustomed to."

"My uncle got recruited to the team when he became a sergeant, and has been there ever since."

"So I've heard. He was part of the team around the time Rita Repulsa came to Earth."

"When you first became a Ranger," Kira added.

"Yeah," he sighed, trying not to think about his first Ranger experience. What Rita forced him to do as a teenager still killed him inside, even after ten years. He never understood how his friends had managed to forgive him. He almost murdered them all, not to mention the numerous amount of civilians that got caught in the crossfire of his rampages. And Kim, what he did to her he could never forgive himself for; not a day went by that what happened didn't cross his mind. Kimberly…the one who cared for him the most, he hurt so much more than the others…the one he loved…

"Are you all right, Dr. O? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine, Kira," he smiled weakly, quickly snapping out of his thoughts. "Just a little nauseous from the leftover Chinese food I ate earlier, no big deal." Dr. Oliver hated lying to one of his Rangers, someone he considered a friend, but the consequences of going into the details of the real issue he believed to be much more problematic.

"Okay, just making sure." She knew that her teacher was blatantly lying, but Kira figured it would be best to just leave him be. Whenever the subject of the Green Ranger came up, Dr. Oliver either became extremely infuriated or quiet, and on most occasions, both.

The Rangers came to an immediate stop as they heard rustling from a nearby tree, only to have Cain jump down from one of its many high branches, stretching his stiff limbs. He smiled at his new company and slowly approached the pair while rubbing his eyes. "What are you guys doing all the way out here?" he yawned.

"Just talking, taking a walk to clear our heads, you know, the usual," Kira explained. "Were you sleeping in that tree?"

"I was taking a nap, yeah."

"I do have a guest room, you know," Dr. Oliver cut in. "Not to mention that you have a perfectly good bed to sleep in at Hayley's place."

"And as great as both of those things may be, I find it much more peaceful out here, more natural, you know? It's easier to relax out here."

"I'll just have to take your word for it," she responded sarcastically, turning her attention back to her mentor. "Dr. O, we should probably head back, I have a huge English paper to write, and as much as I cherish these talks we have, I need to cut this one a bit short."

He smiled, "It's no problem, Kira, I was about to start heading back myself."

The trio walked at a leisurely pace, with Cain being as quiet as ever. While Dr. Oliver and Kira continued conversing back and forth about schoolwork and other aspects of their lives, Cain wasn't particularly paying attention, he was more focused on the feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were being followed. He stopped for a moment, being careful not to get too far behind the others. In the distance he could faintly hear barking, and the canine source was heading in their direction fast. "Are there coyotes or any other kind of wild dogs in these woods?" Cain asked, directed toward Dr. Oliver who knew the area best. Considering he had previously been so quiet for so long, his question caused the other two to stop as well.

"Not that I know of," Dr. Oliver replied with a slight inflection in his voice. "Why?"

"Shh…" he replied, putting his hand up to silence the others' questions. Cain got down on one knee, placed his hand on the ground and closed his eyes. He tilted his head slightly to the side in order to hear better and furrowed his brow in his concentration. He sniffed the air, then listened even more intently, attempting to discover the true source of what he had heard before.

"Cain, what the hell is going on?" Kira finally asked, slightly aggravated at his silence.

"Two canine creatures heading straight in our direction, being followed by a being that seems to be at least human-sized, but I can't be certain until they get closer. The man doesn't smell of flesh though, but I can't pinpoint the exact scent."

"How close are they?" Dr. Oliver asked angrily.

"About two miles out last time I checked…make that one mile," he added after sniffing the air once again. "You've got to be shitting me…" Cain muttered.

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"It's Zeltrax," he growled. "I know that scent anywhere. The scent that his armor gives off is distinct, but hard to pick up from more than a mile away."

"What about the dogs, did you pick anything else up on them?"

"They're not dogs, they're not even a species known on Earth. Mesogog must have created them himself."

"He would," Kira grumbled. "So what do we do, Dr. O?"

"Stop him. Whatever he's after and the purpose of those animals can't be good."

"I resent that," Cain smirked. Dr. Oliver couldn't help but give a quarter of a smile at Cain's comment. "Do you think I should leave? I mean, Zeltrax believes me to be dead."

"I know, but if what you say is true, Kira and I will need all the help we can get. Though there's no doubt that your return will cause Zeltrax to go into a homicidal rage at best."

"Right," Cain chuckled. "They'll be at our location in approximately thirty seconds."

"That's some awesome warning you gave there," Kira said smugly.

"I do my best," he smirked, leaning back onto a tree, slightly in shadow.

The hounds grew close enough to a point where even Kira and Dr. Oliver could hear their obstreperous barking that echoed off of the many trees in the woods that surrounded them, making it difficult to determine what direction they were coming from. Kira shot a look of concern to Dr. Oliver to which he responded with a solemn, yet comforting nod. She worriedly glanced back to Cain who pointed in front of the pair, indicating the creatures' approaching direction. The first hound leaped over a hill and landed directly in front of Kira, who instinctively took a step backwards, while on her right Dr. Oliver held his ground even as the other stopped not even a yard ahead of him, its barks and growls ascending in volume.

"Halt!" They heard Zeltrax shout from afar, slowly making his way up the hill his dogs overzealously hopped with ease. The creatures' barks calmed to low growls, knowing the object that held the scent they were tracking was within the immediate area. "Dr. Oliver, I was hoping to find you after my mission was complete, but I can hardly find this to be a disappointment."

"Wish I could say the same," he spat.

"Hostile as ever, I see."

"What are you doing out here, Zeltrax? Are those dogs here to do what you can't?"

Zeltrax let a chuckle escape his mouth, transforming into a full, malicious laugh. "What makes you think I am out here for you? My master has granted me these hounds in order to retrieve the body of Cain, however, they have stopped here. Now where is it?" he ended in a yell.

"What do you mean retrieve his body?" Kira asked with disgust, entering the conversation in anger. "What the hell does that freak of nature want with him?"

"That is none of your concern, Yellow Ranger."

"Like hell it isn't," she muttered. Kira suddenly felt a strong grip on her shoulder that held her back from charging at Zeltrax, immediately recognizing it as Cain's.

"Well it might not be hers, Zeltrax, but it sure as hell concerns me," Cain growled, coming forward from the shadow of the tree. Zeltrax couldn't help but take a step backward in shock, nearly rolling backward down the hill. "Surprised?"

"Th-that is impossible! I saw the light leave your eyes, Cain! I drove my sword straight through your chest!"

"I have the scar to prove it too, believe me," he smirked as he slowly made his way forward. Zeltrax's hounds growled even more vehemently as he grew closer, their senses running rampant from their target being in such a close proximity. "Come on, tin head, you and I both know that for people like us, death is never permanent. I'd be happy to reassess that theory though, at least in your case."

"Cain, stand down, this isn't the time for that," Dr. Oliver said sternly. "We have more than just Zeltrax to deal with, we have no idea what those creatures are capable of."

"But you know full well what I'm capable of, Tommy."

"That's exactly why I'm telling you to stand down. I know how you get, and I will not let you risk my Ranger's safety because you can't control your anger."

"Fine," he growled, eyes flickering yellow. "What do you propose then?"

"We find a way to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Sick 'em, boys!" Zeltrax cried out. The hounds growled in succession, moving from their static position to one of attack. They barked loudly, their coats transforming from flat black to a deep crimson and took a huge leap forward into a run in unison.

"Shit," Cain mouthed.

"Run!" Dr. Oliver desperately shouted, but Kira and Cain didn't need to be told. They bolted into a sprint in the opposite direction, but the beasts were close behind, running through the forest at least twice their speed. Cain took the lead as the fastest of the group with Kira right behind him. Her small size allowed her to move faster then even Dr. Oliver, who brought up the rear.

Not only did Zeltrax find this an opportunity to kill Cain for good this time, he additionally found it a time to finally exact his revenge on Dr. Oliver. Even from a distance, he could still see Dr. Oliver and just as quickly as the hounds took off he fired a lightning bolt at him, bringing him to his knees in order to slow him down. Dr. Oliver groaned in pain, bringing the others' attention to him.

"Go! I'll be fine! " he bellowed, encouraging the others to go on without him. He figured he would be able to catch up, the shot wasn't as severe as others Zeltrax had fired at him in the past. "Cain, get Kira out of here!" Cain reluctantly did as he was told, knowing her safety was more important than their own. He firmly grabbed her arm and coaxed her to keep running. Dr. Oliver struggled to get to his feet; however, the bolt took more of a toll than he realized. Just as he was about to stand, one of the hounds finally reached him, digging a set of claws deep into his thigh, dragging them down to his knee. His scream echoed through the woods, forcing Cain and Kira to immediately turn around, running as fast as they possibly could, only to find Dr. Oliver on the ground once again with one of the beasts right over him, the second close behind. Even with his leg so injured, Dr. Oliver attempted to crawl away, but the first hound slashed his back, the second sank its claws even deeper than the previous one into his shoulder, violently throwing him onto his back. All Cain could hear over Dr. Oliver's agonized screams was the repetitive ripping of clothing and flesh, a sound very familiar to him. Each time the canines made contact with him, another yell of agony left Dr. Oliver, and they only escalated in volume, the pain was unbearable at best. He tried to turn onto his side in an attempt to relieve the pressure of the wounds on his back, but the first hound slashed the other side, forcing him onto his back once more where the second drove its claws deep into his chest, blood spurted in every direction the farther the creature scratched. He writhed uncontrollably as the beasts mercilessly tore at him over and over again; fighting back against them wasn't an option, especially now. Over his own screams, he could faintly hear Zeltrax laughing maniacally from his perch and Kira yelling for him in the background, but it soon faded as oblivion welcomed him into unconsciousness.

Just as the creatures were about to finish Dr. Oliver, Cain finally made his way over to him and slashed the first hound's throat with ease. He caught the other with its mouth open, ready to strike, grabbing both its upper and lower jaw and then pulled them apart until a loud snap was heard. He threw the beast to Zeltrax's feet with a deafening roar, who then disappeared through an invisiportal at Cain's retaliation.

"Dr. Oliver!" Kira shouted, reaching his side, noticing he was out cold and barely breathing. "Dr. O, please…please wake up…"

Blood poured continuously out of all of Dr. Oliver's wounds in copious amounts, especially those across his chest and side. Cain skidded to a halt and hurriedly took of his belt, quickly tying it around Dr. Oliver's upper thigh to slow down the blood loss from his leg. He hastily shed his top shirt, using it to put over the deep lacerations in Dr. Oliver's chest and motioned Kira to do the same, but she was paralyzed, blankly staring at her mentor, still trying to comprehend what just happened.

"Kira!" Cain roared, snapping Kira out of her trance. "Take off your jacket and use it to put pressure on Tommy's side. He's already lost too much blood, he can't afford to lose anymore." Kira did as she was told, tearing up at the sight of the injury which was still gushing red liquid even though she was holding the thin, zip-up hoody to it as hard as she could.

While keeping one hand on Dr. Oliver's torso, with his free hand, Cain took the emergency cell phone Hayley had given him out of his pocket and dialed her number which was on his speedial, and the only number he had ever called on the phone. "Pick up, pick up, pick up," he muttered under his breath as he grew impatient.

"Hello?"

"Hayley, don't ask any questions, just listen to me, all right? I need you to hack into the invisiportal network and have the other end come out at Reefside Memorial from our location. Kira and Tommy are with me, so you can track me through their communicators."

"The hospital? Cain what's going on, you're scaring me."

"Please, Hayley, I can't explain right now, time isn't exactly on our side. Just do this, then call the others and meet us there."

"All right, a portal should spawn in approximately ten seconds, taking you outside the hospital's emergency room entrance."

"Thank you," he sighed as he shut the phone, placing it back into his pocket. Cain could feel the temperature around them change dramatically, a fresh, glowing portal opened up right above the trio. "Hold on," Cain ordered as he lifted his hand into the air, making all three of them disappear into it.

* * *

"Where is it Zeltrax? Where is Cain's body?" Mesogog hissed, anger already hinted in his voice.

"Sir, there was…a complication."

"Did I not tell you to deal with any and all complications? Even if you were too incompetent to do so, I informed you that my obedient hounds would be glad to do so."

"Yes, you did, my lord. However, your creatures have fallen."

"To what end, Zeltrax? The Rangers, I presume?"

"They fell by Cain's hand, my lord," Zeltrax whispered. He thought Mesogog didn't hear him, but he was wrangled by the neck and slammed into a nearby wall.

"What did you just say?" the mutant shouted, his deep, raspy voice echoed throughout the laboratory and even the halls surrounding it. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Zeltrax, but did I just hear you say to me that Cain, my experiment that you killed personally, is the one who thwarted you and killed my pets?"

Mesogog held Zeltrax's throat so tight that he could barely breathe, much less speak. In order to not make his master even more furious than he currently was, he managed to get out a reply. "Yes," he gasped. "With ease, master."

"Then answer me this, Zeltrax. How is he still alive?" His voice was even louder this time, instilling fear into Zeltrax, something he never knew he could feel. He was created to show no emotion, but he certainly felt this one.

"I have no idea," he whimpered. "Though I have some good news to report, sir."

"And what could that possibly be?"

"Before your pets were destroyed, they injured Dr. Oliver to an extent where I believe he will be out of commission for a long time, if he even survives at all."

At these words, Mesogog reluctantly released his firm grip on Zeltrax's throat, letting him fall to the ground. "Then it seems you have not failed completely, general. However, you will still be punished for your overwhelming incompetence," he said, his yellow eyes piercing Zeltrax to his core. "Now leave me before I decide any different."

* * *

Cain and Kira sat adjacent to each other in the hospital hallway across from Dr. Oliver's room in complete silence. Kira's leg was constantly twitching and Cain held his head, dried blood still coated both of their hands. He looked over to Kira, concerned about the vacant expression on her face.

"Are you okay?"

"How can you even ask something like that, Cain?" she snapped. "I just saw my teacher get ripped to shreds, not even knowing if he's still alive in there and you're asking if I'm okay?" Her voice was elevated and she started to cry, but only slightly. Passing employees and patients couldn't help but stare.

Cain put his arm around her, slowly rubbing her shoulder in an attempt to console her. She finally leaned into him and let out what she'd been holding in since they got to the hospital. "Tommy's going to be all right," he whispered comfortingly to her. "After all the shit he's been through, he's not going to let himself get killed by a couple of dogs."

"Aren't you worried though? It's been over an hour since we've gotten a word out of any doctor about him, and almost as long since someone has come in or out of his room. I mean, we're in the ICU for Christ's sake, Cain. This is serious."

"I know it is. I've seen those who are worse off survive, but I've seen people with less that haven't, so of course I'm worried. You all have become more to me than just allies, I consider you my friends. I don't do that often, so you should feel special," he finished with a grin. Cain moved his arm when Kira looked up at him with a hint of a smile. He felt a sudden vibration in his pocket; Hayley's name had popped up on the caller ID so he immediately answered. "Hey."

"Hey. We're in the parking garage, and I'm wondering if you're still in the ER, or if you're somewhere else so we don't get stuck somewhere."

He gave a deep sigh, "We're in the ICU, Hayley."

"Intensive care? Seriously, Cain, what the hell is going on? It's bad enough you call out of nowhere for me to teleport you to the hospital, and now you've ended up in the ICU where God knows what is going on in there. I need answers. Now."

"It's not exactly something I should explain over the phone. Trust me on this, please. I'll see you in a few minutes." Cain slowly took the phone away from his ear and pressed the end key, putting it back into his pocket. "The others are here," he explained, turning to Kira who simply gave a nod in response.

Hayley, Conner, Ethan, and Trent came rushing around a corner, finally slowing down at the sight of Kira and Cain in their seats. Cain looked over, and gestured Kira to get up as the others approached.

"You guys all right?" asked Conner, choking on his last words when he saw the blood on Cain's hands as well as Kira's.

"Yeah, we're fine," Cain softly replied.

"Wait a minute, wasn't Dr. O with you?"

Cain closed his eyes and deeply sighed, glancing for a moment over to Kira, who couldn't bear to look him in the eye, rather she just curled into Trent.

"Cain," Hayley addressed, grabbing his arm gently, merely to catch his attention, "where's Tommy?" He hung his head, reluctantly looked her straight in the eye, then gestured his head toward the room closest to them. "No…he…" Hayley instantly broke down into tears, hugging Cain as hard as she possibly could, burying her face into his chest which he still found to be slightly uncomfortable when touched.

"What happened, is he okay? How bad is he hurt?" Ethan anxiously asked, most of his words melded together. "I know this is the ICU and everything, but he's going to be okay, right?"

"We can't explain out here, too many people. We don't know what's going on, we haven't even seen the doctor for over an hour now. It was pretty bad before we came here, the blood loss alone could have easily killed him, but he still had a heartbeat when we arrived." Hayley pulled back a few inches so she could look at Cain who gave her a kiss on the forehead and directed her to one of the chairs they were sitting in previously. "He'll be fine, I promise," he whispered, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

Cain was the first to hear the door to Dr. Oliver's room open, a doctor in his early forties emerged from it with a less than excited expression. "Dominic?" he asked. Cain hesitated at first, not used to being called by his first name, but immediately walked over to the doctor, hands behind his back to hide his claws. The others were soon behind him, eager to hear how Dr. Oliver was faring.

"Yes, sir?" Cain answered, trying not to open his mouth too wide when he spoke at risk of revealing his fangs to the doctor.

"My name is Dr. Gabriel Vanlier, your friend's presiding physician," he began. "Mr. Oliver is stable for the time being, but it wasn't without complications."

"Complications?" Hayley cut in.

The doctor let out a small sigh, turning his attention back to Cain. "After you and Miss Ford brought him to the emergency room, Mr. Oliver went into shock from the significant blood loss he endured. Several minutes later, his heart stopped, and he was no longer breathing," he paused at their reactions, tears began to stream down Kira's face as well as Hayley's. "I am glad to report that within our five minute time frame, we were able to revive Mr. Oliver. However, on account of his extensive injuries, his lung and heart functions are somewhat hindered. In order to keep him breathing, at least for the time being, he is hooked up to a ventilator, as well as an external pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat. He is unconscious, and has been given a morphine drip for the pain, as well as other medicines to fight infection and assist in blood clotting. I am very sorry for what happened to your friend, though without your help, he would be dead by now," the doctor rested his hand on Cain's shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"Can we see him?" Kira asked shakily, still in shock from what the doctor's explanation.

"For a few minutes, I suppose. After that only two of you can be in the room at a time, and must be accompanied by either Dominic or Hayley since they're the only legal adults here, it's hospital policy."

"Thank you, Dr. Vanlier," Cain replied, quickly shaking his hand. Cain led the way into Dr. Oliver's room with the others filing slowly after him, slightly hesitant to see him in his current condition.

Dr. Oliver lay still in his bed, tubes and wires were connected to a variety of areas, the most prominent being the ventilator tube that went from his mouth to a nearby machine and the IV attached to his right arm. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages as well the upper half of his left leg and shoulder and in certain spots, blood had soaked through the bandages, namely on his chest. Upon seeing him, Kira latched onto Trent in a death grip, holding back her tears, Ethan began breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating, and Conner immediately lost his temper.

"So what the hell happened, Cain?" he yelled, Cain did nothing to acknowledge Conner was even speaking to him; he blankly stared down on Dr. Oliver, his hands in a vice grip around the railing of the bed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Dr. O's in here because of you!"

"Conner, stop!" Hayley warned.

"No! It was always fuckin' has to do with you, doesn't it? Everything that's gone wrong in the last few months has pretty much been your fault! And it's all because Mesogog misses his personal attack dog!"

Faster than the others could react to Conner's accusations, Cain had Conner by the neck, pinned a few feet in the air against the nearest wall, a powerful roar leaving him. His eyes were glowing a deep amber color, and for the first time in over a month, he lost himself. As Conner tried to resist Cain's unyielding grasp, he cordially tightened it with a low growl.

"Cain! Cain, let him go!" Hayley pleaded, placing her hand on his arm, the other on the side of his face. "Cain, please, look at me. Let him down." He took a quick glance over to her, then straight back over to Conner. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and released his grasp on Conner's throat and let him drop right to the hard, tile floor below. "Thank you," she sighed into his ear, rubbing his arm in appreciation.

Cain kneeled down to Conner's level while still on the ground and got within millimeters of his face. "If you ever talk to me like that again, I won't hesitate to rip out your vocal chords," he snarled. "Got it?" Conner nodded as he slowly got to his feet, holding his neck in pain, still trying to catch his breath.

"You okay, man?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah," Conner got out with a cough.

Cain sighed, plopping down onto the only chair in the room and ran his hand down his face, then back up through his hair, before looking over to Kira once again. "If you take a look at the hospital's report, it'll tell you that Tommy was attacked by a pair of wild dogs. Load of bullshit, that is…" He paused, quickly glancing at Conner. "For once, the jock actually had a point; what happened to Tommy did have to deal with me. Mesogog created a new breed of dog, if you can even call them that. They were scaled, had red eyes, and their coats changed color when they attacked. He created them for hunting purposes I assume. He sent them, and Zeltrax, to retrieve my body from the woods, God only knows for what sick purpose he wanted it, but ran into the three of us instead. To say that Zeltrax was pissed when he found out I was alive is the understatement of the year."

"So how did Dr. O get this way then if the dogs were after you?" Conner snapped, anger clearly shone in his eyes.

"If you would let me finish, I'd tell you," Cain growled. "Even though they were trained to go after my scent, Zeltrax tried to kill two birds with stone, and in this case, literally. We all ran from his hounds with myself in front, Kira behind me, and Tommy was at the back. Zeltrax shot Tommy with a lightning bolt to slow him down enough so that the creatures could attack him. They tore at him with a bloodlust I've never seen before outside of my own. As fast as I could get back to him, I killed them both, then Zeltrax disappeared through a portal, the coward. Kira and I were pressing against his most significant wounds, and that's when I called Hayley to teleport us to the hospital."

"Well, if we didn't want Zeltrax dead before, we sure as hell do now," Trent interjected, the others nodded in agreement.

"Zeltrax is mine to deal with," Cain lowly growled, standing up as he heard a knock at the door. "Come in."

A young nurse slowly opened the door, surprised to find so many people in such a small room. Her blond hair, soft skin, and petite body instantly caught Conner's attention, as well as Ethan's. "Hi, my name's Angela, an intern of Dr. Vanlier's. I'm here to change Mr. Oliver's bandages, so I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave the room for a few minutes. Is that okay? Was I interrupting something?"

"Don't worry about it," Cain replied, looking over to the two boys who couldn't bare to tear themselves away from the nurse and could practically see the drool cascading in waves down their chins. "Come on, let's go." He directed the others outside and held the door for Angela as she took a small cart inside the room with her that held disinfectants and extra gauze.

"So what now?" questioned Ethan now that he had calmed down a bit.

"Well, since we all can't all go back in there at once, and anyone who does has to be with either Hayley or myself; I've sorted out a plan, at least for today. Hayley will stay here with the boys, and Kira if she so wishes, and take turns for whoever feels the need to stay with Tommy."

"What about you?" Kira asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I have something to take care of. Just call when you need to go home for the night, then I'll come back," he said coldly, turning his back and heading down the hallway.

"Cain, wait! Just—" she yelled after him, "don't do anything stupid…" Kira finished in a mumble as he turned the corner. "Hayley, where are you going?"

"I just need to make a couple phone calls, okay?" she explained, wiping her eyes and began heading in the opposite direction of where Cain left. She made her way out of the ICU as fast as she could, searching for a place out of earshot of the Rangers and anyone else who would be listening. She scrambled through her purse in search of her cell phone and luckily found it on top of the rest of the clutter that occupied the space. Leaning against a wall, she scrolled through her contacts until she reached the number she desired. After a long pause, she mustered up the courage to press the call button on her cell.

The other line rang several times, but a deep voice finally picked up on the other end. "Hello?"

"Jason?"

"Yes, may I ask who's calling?" he politely asked.

"It's H-Hayley," she stammered, struggling to keep her composure.

"Oh, hey! I haven't talked to you since Tommy left for his internship with Mercer. Did he actually get his PhD? I wouldn't know, the guy isn't exactly good at keeping in touch."

"Yeah…he did." She could feel tears filling her eyes once again, but she tried to hold back for Jason's sake.

"Hayley, is there something wrong? You don't sound too well," he said, concern entering his voice, just as it did Dr. Oliver's on several occasions.

"It's…it's Tommy," she paused, sliding down the wall into the fetal position, bursting into tears.

"What happened?" Jason's voice suddenly raised in volume, but he was careful not to upset Hayley more than she already was.

"He's in the hospital…Reefside Memorial…in intensive care. He…he was attacked…almost torn to pieces." Hayley only cried harder when she tried to explain what happened to Dr. Oliver's best friend. "T-Tommy can't even breathe on his own…and all that blood…" she bawled even more, her words were barely interpretable toward the end. The other end of the line was dead silent, she didn't even know if anyone was still present. "J-Jason?"

"I'm still here, Hayley, don't worry, I just…" he stopped, letting out a sigh. "I'll be there before the night is out, just stay there. Reefside isn't that far from Angel Grove. An hour tops."

"Jason, wait," she sniffed, trying to catch him before he hung up the phone.

"Yeah?"

"I was going to call Kimberly as well, but I…I can't handle another phone call like this, Jase."

"I understand. I'll get a hold of Kim, no doubt she'll take the next flight out just to get over there."

"Thank you," she sniffed.

"No problem, Hayley," he said soothingly, his voice calm. "I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Okay." She didn't dare hanging up the phone first, but when she heard a click on the other end of the line, she slowly closed her cell phone and held it tightly in her hand as she continued to cry on the hospital floor.


	15. Deliverance

AN: I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've last updated, I'm so sorry, guys. Luckily for you, this is my longest chapter to date. I could have split this up into two chapters, but meh, I didn't feel like it. I hope you guys enjoy. Please read and review!

I don't own PRDT, just Cain and other OCs.

* * *

Jason hurriedly threw several articles of clothing into a backpack he found in his closet and ran outside to his red '69 Mustang, almost tripping down his own porch steps as he did so. He carelessly tossed the bag into the backseat, slamming the car door behind him and put the car into gear in record time. When he successfully exited his neighborhood, Jason pulled out his phone, hitting number one on the speedial. He impatiently drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in rapid succession waiting for the other line to pick up.

"Hello?" a soft voice replied on the other end, one he instantly recognized as Kimberly's.

"Hey, little sis."

"What's up, Rex? You usually call only once a week, is something wrong?"

Jason let out a deep sigh, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he accelerated down the highway. "Kim, you need to get to Reefside as soon as you can."

"Reefside? The town about an hour south of Angel Grove? What's so important all the way out there that I need to drop everything for?" All Kimberly could hear on the opposite end of the phone was an immediate silence. She checked her phone display to see if the call had dropped or if he hung up. "Jason, what is it?"

"Tommy is in the ICU at Reefside Memorial Hospital…"

"W-what?" she choked out. "Are…are you sure?"

"Yeah, Hayley called a few minutes ago, she was devastated. She could barely put words together when she was trying to tell me what happened. I'm on my way there now. I should be there in about forty-five minutes if there isn't an accident up ahead."

"Hayley? The red head Tommy met in college?"

"Same one."

"Well, what happened, Jase?" she asked in a raised tone, quickly packing essential belongings into a suitcase.

"I'm not completely sure, Kim. Hayley said something about him being attacked and almost being torn to pieces, I can't imagine what actually happened. She also said that he can't breathe on his own and he lost a lot of blood." At his explanation, Jason could hear Kim begin to softly cry, sniffles constantly coming through his earpiece. "Kim, are you all right?"

"What kind of a stupid question is that, Jason?" she yelled, slamming her suitcase shut and headed straight for her front door. "You just told me that one of the most important people in my life who hasn't said a word to either of us in almost five years and basically dropped off the face of the planet is in intensive care, and you expect me to be all right? He almost died, Jason, and we didn't have a fucking clue!"

"I know, Kim, but you need to calm down."

"How can I?" she questioned as she began to cry harder into the phone.

"It'll be okay, Firebird. Just take a flight in the morning so you have time to relax and take this in."

"Oh, screw that, I'm on my way to the airport right now. I just booked a non-stop flight from here to LAX that will arrive around ten o'clock tonight."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Jason chuckled. "I'll be there to pick you up, little sis."

"You better," she replied with an intimidating tone. "See ya, Jase."

"Bye, Kim."

Over twenty minutes had passed before Jason finally saw the blue Reefside City Limits sign on the outskirts of town. Another ten went by before he reached the metropolitan area and proceeded to follow the small signs on street corners with a large H and a directional arrow leading toward the hospital. To avoid the hassle of the parking garage, he parked his vehicle on the street a block away, and put in enough change to accommodate for four hours of parking time. Jason bolted toward the main hospital building, nearly knocking down several people in the process. He sprinted though the hospital's lobby to the discontent of the security guards, reaching the counter out of breath. "I'm…looking…for…the ICU…" he panted, slowly but surely catching his breath. "My best friend, Thomas Oliver, is a patient in there."

The nurse who sat at the computer shot a concerned glance at Jason, but after all, she'd seen crazier people wander up to her desk. Searching under the name Oliver, she instantly found his record being that he was in such critical condition. "Ah, yes. Mr. Oliver is Dr. Vanlier's patient. His room is on the second floor, number 217." Before she could continue, Jason ran to the nearest elevator, repeatedly pushing the button signaling the elevator to return to the ground floor.

"Come on, are you serious?" he mumbled in frustration. As soon as the familiar ding of the elevator rang Jason rushed inside before anyone already in the cabin could exit. _The stairs would have been a hell of a lot quicker_, he thought. He exited the elevator on the second floor just as hastily as he had entered, breaking once again into a run. Jason came to a halt when he saw four teenagers standing opposite of Dr. Oliver's room deep in conversation; each of them clad in one respective color. _It's just a coincidence,_ he told himself,_ there's no way Tommy would be active again_. Two of the adolescents sat in the chairs; the one in white had his arm around the young woman dressed in mostly yellow who had fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. The boy in red gave him a strange look as he hurriedly opened the door to the room, shutting the door behind him.

Jason's legs nearly gave out from beneath him at the sight of his best friend in the hospital bed with bandages covering most of his upper body as well as tubes and wires attached to him every which way. He used the door as support to regain his footing and headed toward the bed, gripping the railing hard enough to almost bend the metal itself. "What the hell have you been up to?" Jason asked softly, knowing that Dr. Oliver couldn't hear him, but it was worth a shot, even if the question was somewhat rhetorical. From the opposite, dark corner of the room he could faintly hear someone crying, only to find Hayley sitting in the chair with her knees pressed to her chest, sobbing into them. "Hayley?" he asked to gain her attention as he kneeled down in front of her.

She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes, returning her feet to the floor and quickly embraced him in a hug. "Hi, Jason," she sniffed, quickly releasing him. "Did you tell Kim?"

"Yeah, I did. She booked the first flight she could. I'm picking her up from the airport around ten tonight." Hayley nodded in response, falling silent. "Hayley, please, you need to tell me what's going on here. I—" Jason was interrupted by Conner opening the door, peering his head in. "Kid, would you mind giving us some privacy here?"

"No, Jason, it's okay," she said, wiping her eyes. "Conner, you can come in. In fact bring the others as well."

"What about that whole 'only two people can be in the room at once' deal?"

"This is important, just bring them in, please?"

"Sure thing," he replied with a smile, gesturing the others to enter the room.

"Guys, this is Jason Scott," Hayley introduced, "you know him as the original Red Ranger."

"Hayley," he snapped, eyes widened.

With a small smile, she continued, "Jason, this is Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent, also known as the Dino Thunder Rangers; being Red, Blue, Yellow, and White respectively."

"I knew I recognized you," Ethan cut in, breaking the tension. "From Dr. O's video. You two were like brothers, right?"

"We still are, in a sense," Jason finally responded after a pause. "Wait…what video?"

"When Tommy was captured several months ago by Mesogog, the Rangers found a video diary he left behind in case anything ever happened to him. It compiled all of the Power Rangers' history up until the present time."

"Captured? If Tommy isn't a Ranger anymore then why would he…" he trailed off.

"Well, 'isn't' is poor word choice here," Ethan explained. "More like he _wasn't_ a Ranger until after he was captured. He stole the Black Dino Gem on his way out of that freak's lab when we helped him escape."

"Dino Gem?"

"Jason, I don't think this is the best place to explain all of this," Hayley replied just as Ethan opened his mouth. "Can you guys go back outside for a few minutes? We need to talk privately."

The Rangers nodded and filed out the door. Jason paced across the room, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't believe this…"

"That Tommy's a Ranger again, or that he didn't tell you?"

"Both. It's one hell of a secret to keep, especially from me."

"Maybe he knew he'd get this reaction out of you," Hayley reassured, "Look, Tommy didn't want this, it just happened. All he wanted to do after the incident with Mercer was to teach and live the quiet life."

"What incident?"

"Like I said, this isn't the time or the place to tell you all this. Since visiting hours are over before Kim's flight comes in, we'll go to the lab and I'll explain everything to the both of you so I don't have to unnecessarily repeat myself. We'll just come back here in the morning. To be honest, I can't take staying here anymore."

"I understand," Jason comforted, pulling Hayley into a hug. "We can leave now if you want." She backed away and nodded, leading the way out the door.

* * *

"He's _what_?" Kimberly shouted upon Jason informing her that Dr. Oliver was once again a Ranger.

"I know, I had the same reaction when I found out he's active again, but you promised me that you wouldn't freak out."

"We haven't even heard from the man in five years and he comes back a Ranger? What color this time?"

"Black," Jason said bluntly, trying to stay focused on the road.

Kim scoffed. "Three more and he'll have been the original set."

He couldn't help but laugh, especially at the thought of Tommy dawning a pink uniform. "Those kids seem to think very highly of him. It's almost as if Tommy's their Zordon."

"That's a pretty big comparison, Jase. Where did Tommy pick up those kids anyway?"

"Hayley told me that they're all his students."

"Students? As in martial arts students?"

"No, remember I told you how he went after his PhD? He became a doctor of paleontology and he teaches science at Reefside High. The kids are all in his first period."

"Oh yeah, I remember. I still don't see Tommy as a doctor though. It's weird. I know he's intelligent and all, but I still find it weird, you know?"

"Yeah, me too. When he first told me that's what his major was I didn't believe him, not for a second."

"So where exactly are we going? We've seen nothing but trees for the past ten minutes," Kim stated to change the subject, still trying to comprehend how Dr. Oliver, who she'd known all those years ago, became as such. During their time in high school, all he raved about was opening his own dojo and racing in the professional circuit; and how he could possibly do both plus the slim possibility of having a family one day.

"Hayley gave me Tommy's address," Jason explained, taking another quick glance at his GPS.

"He would live out in the middle of nowhere…"

"Apparently he needs to. Something Hayley called 'the lab' is there too, which I assume is his makeshift command center."

The pair reached the secluded house a few minutes later, two vehicles already parked outside parallel to one another. A knock on the door from Jason was greeted with Hayley opening the door with a half-hearted smile; the smell of fresh coffee filling the first floor of the home with its delectable aroma. Jason pulled her into a hug and afterwards introduced her to Kimberly that stood behind him. The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries just to be polite. Hayley led the two over to Dr. Oliver's desk and lightly pulled on the statue's jaw bone. Jason and Kimberly's eyes immediately widened at the sight before them. The hardwood floor in front of them folded away to reveal a hidden staircase that they figured led to his command center.

"Wow," Kim mouthed upon laying her eyes on the immaculate cave-like lab surrounding her. The technological equipment alone must have cost thousands of dollars, much less the construction of the lab itself.

As if he shared Kim's thoughts, Jason commented sarcastically, "There's no way Tommy's salary could have paid for this. I know this is California and all, but I'm sure teachers get paid just as shitty here as they do anywhere else."

Hayley couldn't help but quietly laugh at Jason's remark as she gestured them over to sit near the monitors. She took a seat on a spare stool in front of the two, preparing herself to be bombarded with questions by Dr. Oliver's closest friends.

"All right, Hayley, spill. What the hell has Tommy been up to?" Jason inquired with a small hint of anger in his voice, still upset about being kept in the dark about him being back in action.

Hayley let out a deep sigh before looking over to Jason and Kim one last time before she began to speak. Her tale began with explaining what happened during Dr. Oliver's internship with Anton Mercer; about how Mesogog attacked the island and stole their research, rewiring their experiments to use for his own means. After acquiring what the mutant needed, he destroyed the island base, supposedly along with Mercer and Dr. Oliver. After his discovery of the Dino Gems, he had contacted Hayley and explained everything to her. She had suspected he had secrets just like anyone did, but she didn't expect anything like this. He decided to inform her of his present and past situations because of her background, and she was one of the few people he could trust; something he discovered during their time together at MIT. Together they built the Dino Morphers and the command center along with the tunnel system under the already existing secluded home he purchased as soon as he returned from the island. Jason asked again how Dr. Oliver could ever afford something like that, only to be told that he used the leftover funding from Mercer's experiments. She went on to quote him, "At least some of this money will be used for the greater good."

Without hesitation so she wouldn't be interrupted, Hayley went on to explain how his Rangers were chosen, and how the Dino Gems worked. "The DNA inside the gem is that of the dinosaur it represents, granting the individual it chooses with a special ability. Conner has super speed, Ethan can coat his skin with an armor of sorts, and Kira can produce a scream with supersonic capabilities; with them being the Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Pterodactyl."

"Wish we had those; would have made our lives a hell of a lot easier," Kim muttered.

Jason couldn't help but nod in agreement and let out a deep laugh. "You said earlier that Tommy got his gem when he was captured by that Meso-freak. How did that even happen?"

"Tommy was on the way to one of Kira's gigs at my café, but he was surrounded by Zeltrax and a bunch of Tyrannodrones. He fought back, obviously, but he said that Zeltrax had drugged him, then he woke up in Mesogog's lab to be interrogated."

"Zeltrax?" Jason asked, his voice thick with concern to the mention of yet another enemy after Dr. Oliver's head.

"He's like your Goldar, and additionally has a grudge against Tommy."

"Right," he sighed. "Always after him, always."

"Anyway, Mesogog couldn't figure out how to release the Black Dino Gem from its imprisonment, but since Tommy formed the new Ranger team, he figured that if anyone would, it'd be him. Ever since the first three gems were discovered, Tommy picked up the energy of a forth, so we created another Morpher, just in case. Came in handy once he managed to release the gem and become the Black Ranger. Just in time too."

"So what power does Tommy have?" Kim asked.

"Invisibility."

"The things I could do with that…" Jason whispered. "Wait, at the hospital, you introduced me to a White Ranger, where does he come in?"

"At first, Trent's gem was corrupted. He was under evil's influence, but didn't serve Mesogog. He had his own agenda, to destroy the Rangers in any way possible. The only problem was that Trent didn't want this, he fought the gem's influence until it finally consumed him altogether."

"Then why is he on the team?"

"Well, obviously he defeated his darker half, just never fully explained how. He's not exactly the sharing type, he just shrugs everything off with sarcasm."

"So, other than Mesogog trying to revert the entire planet back to its prehistoric roots, everything seems just peachy. How did Tommy end up in the hospital, then?"

Hayley let out another sigh, knowing full well that she had to bring up Cain eventually, but she was dreading it. She hesitated so that she could choose her words carefully, making sure that she didn't reveal too much concerning him. With her luck, he was standing right outside the door, or he was just within earshot to overhear their conversation. "There was a sixth Dino Gem that Tommy had no idea existed; so, naturally, Mesogog got to it first. He found a loophole of sorts to the selection process that the gems were known for. He kidnapped an individual he deemed fit to join his ranks; splicing the DNA of the gem directly with the man's that created a third helix, as well as injecting the remaining gem shards into his blood stream. The gem itself contained the DNA of the sabretooth tiger."

"So what's this guy got to do with it? Was he the one responsible?" Jason asked with anger slightly present in his tone.

Hayley shook her head. "Far from it, Jason. When we first met Cain, we could tell that he was undoubtedly stronger than any of the others, even Tommy. At first, we found it difficult to trust him on account of his…questionable combat methods; but he's proved time and time again to be an invaluable asset to this team and has sacrificed more than anyone else to ensure their safety." Hayley paused once again, suddenly realizing how often she had been doing that since the beginning of her explanation. She found it best to leave out the details about Cain's powers and his constant struggle with the gem. "After several attempts to get Cain back, Mesogog sent Zeltrax and a pair of mutated canines to hunt him down, and to ultimately capture or kill him. Tommy, Kira, and Cain ran away from the dogs, but with the grudge Zeltrax held with Tommy, he found the current situation perfect to exact his revenge as well as fulfill his duty. He electrocuted Tommy to slow him down, while he encouraged the others to keep running in order to keep Kira safe above all things. The beasts caught up with him after he fell, and tore at him relentlessly, delving their claws in deep. Cain heard the attack even as far away as he was, and immediately turned around. Tommy was in really bad shape by the time Cain arrived and killed the dogs. He had lost a lot of blood, and losing more by the second. Cain tried to stop the bleeding as best he could and called me to teleport them to the hospital using the invisiportal network. If it wasn't for him, Tommy wouldn't have made it."

Jason remained silent, though quiet sobs could be heard from Kim's direction. He rolled over to her chair and embraced her in a tight hug where sobbing transformed into full-on bawling in his arms. Jason was holding back tears of his own, but he had to be strong for his little sister. While comforting Kim, he was still attempting to digest all that Hayley had explained to them. "I'm going to take her upstairs," he said quietly, directing Kim toward the stairs that led to the first floor.

"The guest room is the second door on the right of the hallway," Hayley replied, knowing that Dr. Oliver wouldn't mind his two best friends resting in his home. She was surprised at herself for getting through that entire story without crying. With all of it she'd done that day, she figured that her tear ducts were no longer capable, at least for today. Looking down at her watch, it read five minutes 'til midnight. Hayley decided since it was so late, that she would just sleep on the living room couch so she wouldn't have to drive back to town at such a late hour.

Hayley left the computer in hibernation mode as she always did, just in case there was an attack, the alarm would still go off while conserving power. She couldn't imagine how high Dr. Oliver's power bill must be with all the equipment he runs in his basement alone, much less in his actual home. She settled onto the couch after closing the lab entrance and turning off the lights. Shortly after, she drifted off to sleep with her last thoughts being of Cain, still worrying about his earlier statement about something he had to take care of. Reluctantly, she could only fear the worst.

* * *

The soft California breeze swept through Cain's thick hair from atop his perch in Central Park, awaiting Zeltrax's arrival. He smirked at the memory of how he called Zeltrax into battle. It had taken a few days, but Cain had waited patiently for Mesogog to send another mutant creation into the city, if not Zeltrax himself. To his disappointment, merely a creature was sent down, accompanied by a small platoon of Tyrannodrones in tow. Cain made quick work of the drones; easily dismantling them within a matter of moments. He then focused his attention on the mutant; comprising of what seemed to be a shark, among other things. As the creature feebly swung at him, Cain sunk his claws deep into its torso; reaching his hand further into the grotesque figure until he gripped its spine in a vice. "You're going to go back to your master's lair and tell Zeltrax that if he doesn't come back here in less than an hour, I'm coming for him," he growled. "Understand?" The monster nodded, a flicker of fear was present in its black eyes. "Good." Cain swiftly ripped his hand from the torso of the mutant, severing the spinal cord upon his exit. The horrendous creature screamed in agony as a portal materialized over its head, engulfing the beast as it collapsed onto the ground. With a self-satisfied smile, Cain dipped his tainted arm into the fountain to rinse the compilation of fluids that had encased it from bearing deep into the creature he merely used as a messenger.

"Cain!" he heard Zeltrax shout from below, obviously furious, but that's exactly what Cain wanted. Zeltrax was easily angered, which equally meant he was easily distracted by it. So, not only would he be an easy kill, but an enjoyable one as well. His eyes flashed yellow as his thoughts strayed to what he could do to Zeltrax. Whether the cyborg could feel pain or not was to be determined. As a scientist himself, Cain would thoroughly test this problem, and solve it accordingly. Even if Zeltrax could feel nothing, Cain would go all out if that be the case, not that he wouldn't if the opposite were true. It would merely bring him more satisfaction if Zeltrax suffered. The very thought of it brought a wide grin to Cain's lips. If only Hayley could only see what was swimming around in his head right now…

Cain leaped down from the tree he sat so comfortably in with his claws extended, having no intention on exchanging pleasantries with the cyborg. As the gap between the two closed in, the stronger a scent that didn't belong to Zeltrax became. It was…human. Hearing Cain's footsteps, Zeltrax turned to face him, revealing a young boy he held by the hair, his sword to the boy's throat. Cain immediately stopped mid-step upon seeing the boy, his claws instinctively retracted. The boy's appearance was quite similar to that of his own son, Logan. They shared the same dirty blonde hair color, though the boy's was longer and more shaggy than he ever allowed Logan's to be. Even their facial structure was oddly similar. They seemed to be the same age as well, around eight years old. The only discernible difference was the color of the boy's eyes, a deep hazel, while Logan obtained the same eye color as his mother, a pure blue.

"Look familiar?" Zeltrax inquired, sarcasm thick in his voice.

His lip curled in anger as he let out a growl. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Zeltrax? Let the boy go!"

"I'd rather not," he laughed smugly. "Your reaction alone is worth it, much less the entertainment value that this situation will likely grant me."

"You're dead." Cain took a step closer, but immediately came to a halt when Zeltrax pressed the sword harder against the boy's neck. For such a comprising situation, externally, the boy was fairly calm, though his eyes couldn't deceive Cain. His eyes displayed his true fear. Ordinarily, Cain would have expected him to be in the midst of a panic attack, or something along those lines.

"In order to get to me, Cain, you'll need to kill him first. Shouldn't be too hard for you though." Zeltrax released his grip on the boy's hair and moved it to his face. "He looks just like him, doesn't he? Your precious son. Tell me, how did he taste?"

"Shut the hell up," Cain growled, his hands clenched into fists.

"I'm surprised that I was able to find a boy so similar before the deadline you gave me. Ingenious plan, though, don't you agree?" he chuckled.

Cain dashed toward Zeltrax on all fours at the highest speed his body would allow; his irises had instantly changed color upon hearing Zeltrax's crude statement. He pounced on Zeltrax at full power; the sheer force of it knocked the sword out of his hand as the pair flew backward several feet, leaving the boy standing in place wide-eyed as he stared blankly in shock. "Go!" Cain roared. The young man remained unmoved, paralyzed even. "Get out of here, kid! Run!" He did as he was told, sprinting away from the scene, but Cain could smell him not far away. Undoubtedly, he was curious to watch the battle and see who turned out to be the victor.

While he had Zeltrax pinned to the ground, Cain threw several relentless punches at his helmet, significantly denting the metal in several places. As Cain drew back to hit Zeltrax square in the face, he struck back with an electrically powered fist that landed on Cain's stomach that sent him off of the cyborg and onto the concrete a few feet away. He quickly kicked up, completely disregarding the pain. _Damn, that's the first hit he's ever gotten in on me in a fair fight. He's learned…_he thought to himself with a smirk as he spit out blood from the impact Zeltrax's fist made with his torso.

As he leapt at Cain, Zeltrax proved to be a better fighter than he previously let on. Cain combined his feral fighting style with his formal teachings in order to assess what Zeltrax was truly capable of without a weapon or the use of his abilities. A flurry of unhindered strikes came in Cain's direction at a quickening pace, but nothing he couldn't easily counter or swipe away. _He's gotten faster_. Cain pulled back his arm and quickly plunged deep into Zeltrax's stomach with his extended claws and sharply twisted, ripping out several wires on his way out of the cybernetic shell. The blow caused Zeltrax to double over, and with one swift movement, Cain rose his knee to Zeltrax's helmet with such force that the very sound of the impact made Cain cringe slightly. Zeltrax brought a hand to his face and stammered backward, covering whatever damage Cain had inflicted. His eyes glowed brighter as he let out a deep, maniacal laugh at Zeltrax's expense. Zeltrax removed his hand moments later to reveal a rather large crack that ran straight down the middle of his headpiece that brought a wide, toothy grin to Cain's lips.

Zeltrax struggled to turn his head, sparks coming out of his neck as he did so, along with a grunt. His focus turned to his sword that laid on the ground not five feet away. Cain automatically picked up on this, his attention turning to the weapon as well, then back to the cyborg with another smirk. The two leapt simultaneously toward the sword, with Cain slightly ahead of his opponent. He effortlessly rolled into a landing. His left hand reached out to the weapon, but Zeltrax swiftly pulled a dagger from his side and jabbed it into Cain's torso on his lower left side. Cain roared in pain at the intrusion of the blade, but quickly regained his senses. Zeltrax still had a firm grip on the blade, trying as hard as he could to shove it in deeper. With a low growl, Cain's other hand slashed Zeltrax's arm clean off not far above the elbow joint, sparks flying in every direction from the cut wires and metal. He grabbed the entire arm, slowly pulling the blade along with it, and swung the arm such as a baseball bat at Zeltrax's helmet as the cyborg stepped back from the shock of his severed limb. Cain quickly grabbed Zeltrax's sword from the ground, forcefully delving it through his stomach, and with a swift movement, he sliced through wires and cables galore up to right below where his heart should be. Cain removed the weapon in haste from the cyborg's torso, spun the sword in his hand, then struck his neck, cleanly severing the head from the rest of the metallic shell. Zeltrax's helmet fell to the ground with a loud thud, the crack from previously in their quarrel went nearly all the way around now, his body falling onto the hard concrete not even a second later.

Cain looked down at his shirt, a small spot was already a dark red from the blood loss he endured from Zeltrax's blade. He pulled his button-down and his undershirt up with a hiss of pain, as the shirt was nearly stuck to the skin and the injury itself. Upon closer observation, Cain realized Zeltrax had stabbed him in the same place the arrow had penetrated his body not long ago, the wound once again open. At least this time, the pain was significantly less than before. Cain quickly removed the button-down, along with the white tank-top he wore underneath and his belt. He ripped the tank-top into several pieces and placed the extras into his pocket. With the first thick piece, he tied his belt across his stomach and over the cloth so pressure would be applied to the fresh wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He slowly put his top shirt back on, doing only three quarters of the buttons on the shirt.

In the distance, Cain could hear light footsteps behind him. He turned to find the boy approaching him, a nervous smile upon his face. Cain got down on one knee in order to be at the boy's level when he got within feet of him. "Are you all right, kid?" he asked softly, not to startle him. He quickly looked him over checking for injuries or anything else Zeltrax could have done to him. The boy nodded, still not uttering a word or looking him in the eye. _It's probably how I look_, he told himself. "Well, what's your name?" Cain merely asked this only to make sure he could still speak, and perhaps get him to relax and become more comfortable with him. The only thing Cain saw when looking at the boy was his son, but he tried as hard he could to hold back from embracing the boy like he would with Logan.

"James," he replied close to a whisper, but as he continued, he spoke up. "My name's James Campbell."

Cain gave a small smile in response. "Well, it's nice to meet you, James. I'm sorry about this whole mess. This should never have happened to you."

"It's okay, I guess. Why didn't you tell me your name?"

"No, kid, it isn't okay," he sighed. "You don't need to know my name. If you're lucky, you'll never have to see me again. It's for your benefit."

"Why? Is there something wrong with you?"

"Don't you see it?"

"See what?" James asked, as if oblivious to Cain's features.

Cain put his hands forward, claws extended and then opened his mouth to reveal his fangs. When the pair made eye contact, Cain's eyes flickered yellow. "I'm a monster, kid, just like that thing over there," he explained, gesturing over to Zeltrax's remains, now nothing but scrap metal.

"No, you're not." Cain scoffed while shaking his head, breaking their eye contact. "You're not," he repeated, this time his voice seemed deeper, as deep as it could be for his age, as if he was trying to stand up to Cain in a way.

"And how's that?"

"Monsters don't save people." The boy simply smiled after reciting his statement. His heart was obviously swelling with pride for rendering Cain speechless. In fact, he could even hear the boy's heart pick up a few beats. James reached into his right pocket, scrounging around for a few seconds until he pulled out his hand in a fist, gesturing it toward Cain. "Here," he said, opening his hand to reveal a small, wooden yo-yo that sat in his palm.

"What is this?"

"It's a yo-yo."

"I'm fully aware," Cain sighed. "How is it significant?"

"Well, it's my favorite, and I want you to have it." James grinned as he placed the small toy into Cain's hand. As Cain was about to open his mouth to protest the gift, James flung his arms around Cain's neck in a tight embrace that he instinctively returned. "Thank you," the boy whispered into Cain's ear.

_No, thank you_, Cain thought to himself, almost out loud. Cain would have given anything to hold Logan in his arms again; but this boy, James, filled the void in his heart almost perfectly. He wished more than anything that he could never let go of the small boy, but moments later he could feel him pulling away, a lonely tear running down his cheek. "Come on, let's get you home," he encouraged, wiping the tear away with a smile, careful not scare the boy with his fangs.

James shook his head. "I don't want to go home…"

"Why not?" Cain asked in response, now concerned more than ever about the young man.

"I hate my foster parents," he replied in a muffled voice, but Cain could still easily hear him, though he wasn't speaking above a whisper. "Can't I just stay with you?"

"No," Cain sighed, raking his claws through his hair. "Why do you hate your foster parents? Do they hurt you?"

James hung his head, staring intently toward the ground. The pair stood in complete silence until he finally spoke up approximately a minute later. "Frank drinks all the time…he yells and hits things for no reason…" he explained, rubbing his arm.

"Your father hits you?"

"He is _NOT_ my dad!" James shouted, his eyes immediately filled with fresh tears.

With his paternal instincts taking over, Cain pulled James into another hug, rubbing his back in small circles. "I know," he whispered. Cain continued to comfort James as best as he knew how for several minutes until he heard his quiet sobs die down. Cain pulled the boy away from him slowly, firmly grasping his shoulders. "Listen to me, okay?" James reluctantly nodded. "If he even tries to hurt you again, lock yourself in your room however you can, and call me."

"How?" he asked shakily. "I don't have a phone…I'm not even allowed to use the one we have in the house."

"Wherever you are, my hearing is good enough that I'll hear you within a certain mile radius." Cain gave a one-sided smile. "But just in case I'm out of range, I have something of my own to give you," he said, pulling the phone Hayley gave him for emergencies out of his pocket, gently placing it in the boy's hand. "Just hit the number one, if calling me without the phone doesn't work. It'll call my friend Hayley. Whatever happens, I'll come and get you, all right?" James slowly nodded, a small smile fighting its way onto his lips. "Come on, let's go," Cain encouraged, holding out his hand for James to take. He anxiously did so, still hesitant to return home. The sensation of having James' small hand in his own made Cain feel as if he was a father again, holding his own son's hand. He shot James a reassuring smile as he picked up Zeltrax's weapon with his free hand. Already familiar with James' scent, he headed South toward the residential area of downtown, following it to the boy's home.

Once outside James' apartment building, he gave Cain one last hug, showing his unending gratitude. He looked toward the building and started to tremble in Cain's arms. "It'll be okay, just remember what I said. You can always call me, it doesn't matter what time it is, I'll be here." James nodded, took a deep breath, and turned around to head into the front door. He waved back at Cain before closing the glass door behind him. Cain returned the gesture with a small wave of his own and a childish grin.

* * *

Cain stalked through the forest in route to the entrance of Dr. Oliver's lab where he knew Hayley to be, but he thought it strange that two other people whose scent he did not recognize were down there with her. _At least they're human_, he thought. Zeltrax's weapon was held with a tight grip in his hand, a totem he had taken from their battle where he undoubtedly came out as the victor. His mind flashed back to the fight, he gently rubbed the area where Zeltrax jabbed him with the small blade previously, the same spot where the arrow penetrated his torso nearly two months ago. He made his way to the lab with a fresh shirt in tow and an actual bandage on his wound beneath it. More so than Zeltrax's demise, without Cain's conscious consent, his thoughts concentrated on the boy, James, who Zeltrax held hostage as a provocation tool. The similarities between him and his own son, Logan, were uncanny. What James had explained to him earlier about his home life killed him inside, it took everything he had to keep from going into a rage and tearing the boy's foster parents apart. He wanted nothing more than to take him back to Hayley's with him, but the consequences of that could be extremely dire. Kidnapping would be at the top of the list. With his other hand, he looked once again at the yo-yo the boy had given him, clutching it with a white-knuckle grip, then quickly pocketed it once again when he reached the stone door of the lab.

The utter slowness of the heavy door always irked Cain beyond belief to the point where he would slip under the door when just enough room was given. Cain grew extremely bored one afternoon, creating a game of sorts to how low the door could be so that he could still gain entry. He concluded that if he attained a running start he could slide under the door with it barely being open. Today, however, he patiently waited for the door to lift to its full extent so he would have time to calm himself and clear his mind.

He walked forward into the light of the lab, throwing the sword in his hand in the middle of the Dino Thunder insignia painted in the center of it, secured firmly in between two stone tiles so it would be held in place, which brought all three individuals' attention directly to him. The first of the visitors who sat next to Hayley in the other chair was a lean, muscular man similar in stature to Dr. Oliver, clad in a red t-shirt and jeans; an angered, yet calm expression on his face. The second, a petite brunette sat on one of the ledges off to the side with her knees to her chest with her arms around them. She sported a white tank top and vibrant pink shorts. The woman glanced at Cain with widened eyes, a hint of fear prominent in them.

"Who the hell are they?" he snarled.

Jason scoffed, looking over with a narrowed gaze, then shifted it to Hayley on his left. "Is he always this friendly?" Cain responded with a growl, his canines clearly showing in an attempt intimidate Jason. "Did he just growl at me?" he asked in disbelief, set back when he saw Cain's eyes flicker between a deep yellow, almost amber and their initial chocolate brown.

"Yeah, he does that," Hayley explained, shooting up out of her seat and quickly made her way over to him with Kimberly and Jason right behind her. "Cain, this is Jason Scott, Tommy's best friend, and the original Red Ranger." Jason held out his hand for Cain to take. He hesitantly did so and Jason's eyes widened at the sight of Cain's claws. "And this is Kimberly Hart, the original Pink Ranger."

Instead of shaking Cain's hand, Kim's eyes filled with tears and she flung herself toward him, taking hold of his waist in a hug. When she made contact, a hiss of pain melded with a low growl escaped his lips that he was trying so hard to hold back; he didn't want to concern Hayley. Once he swallowed his yelp of pain, he rubbed Kim's back, though still confused to why she was latched onto him like she was.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked softly, pulling back as she wiped her eyes.

"No, it's fine," he lied. "Mind telling me why you did that? I don't even know you."

"Right," she sniffed. "Hayley told us what you did for Tommy, and I couldn't control myself, I'm sorry…it's just…I know he'd be dead if you wouldn't have been there."

"Try the other way around," Cain mumbled. Kim raised an eyebrow in confusion and stepped to the side before the situation became awkward between the two.

"Cain, where the hell have you been? I've been looking all over for you since you stormed out of the hospital, and that was almost a week ago!"

"I told you, I had something to take care of," he responded coldly. "Something that should have been done a hell of a long time ago."

"What are you—" she cut herself off when she saw the familiar weapon protruding from the tile floor slightly behind Cain and to his right. "You didn't…please tell me you didn't kill him…"

"That thing wasn't human anymore, Hayley, trust me. Besides, it wouldn't have made a difference to me anyway, you know that."

Knowing what Cain said was true didn't make Hayley feel any better, quite the opposite as a matter of fact. She tried to convince herself that he'd gotten better, reducing his instinctual urges down so they were controllable; but lately he'd just been getting worse with all that's happened. She took his strong hand in hers, caressing it with her thumb. "Are you sure he's gone?"

"I cut that bastard's head off, Hayley, he's not coming back." Cain pulled her closer, giving her an assertive, yet soft kiss on the lips to reassure her. He looked over Hayley's shoulder to see Jason staring him down, his eyes full of anger as if he were ready to explode. "What are you looking at, Red?"

"You killed someone?" Jason asked bluntly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Not someone, something, it seems you misunderstood. Tommy said that Zeltrax used to be a man like you and I…well, more like you, I suppose," he said with a toothy grin. "But all he was when I got him was a soulless, cybernetic shell with the ghost of a man keeping it running."

"Are you sure you're on the right side? If you're killing like it's just another day at the office, then what makes you better so much than them?"

"Rex, calm down," Kimberly pleaded, rubbing his shoulder.

"I do what is necessary. Besides, there was a time in my life where murder was 'just another day at the office' as you so lightly put it." Cain quickly stepped forward, stopping right in front of Jason, just mere inches separating them. His voice raised in volume to a point where he was practically yelling at Jason. His overwhelming anger caused his eyes not only to turn their deep amber pigment, but to glow as well. "If you thought your life's been hell, try being a Black Ops Marine for almost ten years. You'd be praying to go back to fighting mutant freaks if you've done some of the things that I have. I'd be willing to bet money that someone as self-righteous as you couldn't stomach it."

Jason took a step back, still taking in what Cain just explained to him. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I didn't know." Cain uttered another growl, his canines exposed. His eyes still glowed amber, and his breaths came in heavy, separated bouts. Hayley took his arm and after a few attempts, managed to pull him to the side.

"Cain, calm down, Jason didn't know, okay? He doesn't know anything about you except what I told him, which isn't much. I know how you get when it comes to your personal life. Hell, I probably don't even know the half of it." Cain hung his head and closed his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing and calming himself as Hayley instructed. "Look at me," she encouraged, reaching up to cup his face in her hands, massaging his bearded cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. He did as he was told, revealing his eyes to have returned to their original color. "That's better," Hayley smiled. "Are you all right? When Kim hugged you earlier I noticed you pulled back a bit like she touched a fresh wound."

"Zeltrax got in a lucky hit. Just a couple bruised ribs, it's nothing to worry about. I'll be fine in a couple days."

"Okay," she replied, doubting that Cain was telling her the truth, but chose to accept it for the time being. He wasn't showing symptoms from any other condition as far as she could tell. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Cain shook his head no. "Not now, maybe later," he said with a vacant expression, his mind returned once again to the boy.

"Can I expect you home tonight?"

"I'm not sure yet, Hayley, but don't count on it." Hayley became silent at his words, making Cain eager to change the subject. "How's Tommy?"

"He…he slipped into a coma a couple days after you left," she explained, her eyes once again filled with tears, holding them back as best she could. "His heart rate's fine, but he still can't breathe on his own…" Hayley trailed off, tears streamed down her face as she inched closer to Cain. He gently put his arms around her trembling form as he let her cry into his chest; his shirt was fisted in her hands and quickly became damp in concentrated areas. As he rubbed her back in small circles, Cain whispered soothing words into Hayley's ear, assuring her that Dr. Oliver would be okay. Her and Dr. Oliver had been friends since their early years of college and spent years together afterwards working on different projects that included the production of the Rangers' morphers and weapons. From an outside point of view, one would assume the pair were romantically involved. Even though they weren't, in no way did that mean that the two didn't care deeply for one another, almost like siblings.

"I don't get it," Jason said quietly, looking over at Cain and Hayley in their embrace, confounded.

"What don't you get?" Kim responded, trying not to stare.

"A minute ago, that guy wanted to rip my head off, but now look at him; he's so gentle with her. As gentle as he can be, I guess."

"Remind you of anyone?" she asked sweetly, playfully nudging his arm.

"Are you talking about me or Tommy?"

She softly laughed. "Both of you, actually. Of course, neither of you were aggressive to the extent that this Cain guy is, but when it came to me, both of you cared so much that nothing else mattered."

"But that guy isn't human, Kim, he can't be," he whispered. Hearing this, Cain looked over in Jason's direction with a snarl, his eyes again yellow.

"I think he heard you, Jase," she said with a slight jump in her voice, startled by Cain's reaction. "Hayley neglected to mention his hearing was so good."

"I'd say it's damn near superhuman."

After several minutes, Hayley pulled away and looked up at Cain who rested his forehead against her own. He then stroked his thumb across her cheek, pulling her flush against him for a passionate kiss. His lips swayed so fluidly with hers; his senses kicking into overdrive at the pleasure that was coursing through his body. Not giving a damn to whether other people were still in the room, Cain lightly pushed his tongue against Hayley's lips, requesting entry. His feral need to taste her took over as she obliged him; his tongue became quite the explorer, probing her mouth as their tongues dueled in a heated match. Cain's heart pounded painfully in his chest, practically begging for him to stop, but he simply couldn't bring himself to. Luckily before it shut down altogether, Hayley desperately needed air moments later. "Wow," she gasped as she pulled away from him, though reluctant as she was.

"Better?" Cain inquired smugly.

"Always," she smirked. "Tell me again why you don't do that more often?"

"Pretty sure it was because before now, I would basically have a heart attack every single time our encounters got the slightest bit heated," he responded with a grin, pecking her on the lips. "Almost did just now, as a matter of fact."

"Glad you didn't."

"You're not the only one. Forgive me if I don't come back while Red's still here," he whispered into her ear. "He acts as if I can't hear him on the other side of the room while he's patronizing me. If you weren't able to calm me down so well he'd have been dead way before now, at least the pink one tries to defend me." He softly kissed her lips one last time before turning around to leave.

"Aren't we all thankful for that," Hayley replied quietly, though she knew Cain could still hear her even on the other side of the thick, stone door that lead to the forest.


	16. Power

AN: So sorry for not updating in months, guys! this story is nowhere near forgotten, I've just been really preoccupied. Next chapter should be up soon, though it might be a lot shorter than the last few. I'll try to be more consistent!

As usual, I don't own any aspect of PRDT.

Please review!

* * *

Kimberly couldn't bear to see Dr. Oliver in the hospital the next day after her arrival. It had taken a few days, but she finally showed up at his bedside. Upon seeing him, though, she completely broke down into tears, and wouldn't stop crying until she was clear of the room. Everyday for the next week and a half, Kim had sat in his room for several hours at a time accompanied by Jason. He was there to keep her calm and be there for support. Even though the pair were no longer together, Jason understood Kim's avidity to constantly be with him.

Jason sat on the opposite side of the bed from Kimberly, who constantly held Dr. Oliver's limp hand within her own. Quiet tears rolled down her cheeks, and it simply killed Jason to see his little sister like this. He knew that at a time, they loved each other to no end, but he didn't think such a connection could last this long, through so many years apart.

Kim sat up straight with a start; she could have sworn she felt movement from Dr. Oliver's hand, but looking down at it again, it hadn't even moved a centimeter. She shook off the notion, but squeezed his larger hand with more vigor, rubbing the back of it with the pad of her thumb. Kim loudly gasped when her grip was returned with one much weaker. Thinking she was just seeing things again, she glanced up to see Dr. Oliver's eyes slowly fluttering open. "Tommy!" she yelled with glee. Her happiness soon faded though, as she heard gagging and coughing from his direction that became progressively worse; he was choking on his own ventilator tube. "Jason, go get help!" Kim cried franticly at her brother who was just starting to doze off. He immediately shot out of his seat and out the door at record speed, combing the hallways for an available nurse or doctor. "Tommy, calm down, you're all right," she soothed, but he still continued to choke and attempt to cry out in pain to no avail.

The door to his room burst open with Dr. Vanlier being at the head of the group that rushed in, Jason at the rear. "Mr. Oliver, my name is Dr. Vanlier, and I'm going to need you to calm down. Angela, please administer the morphine," he ordered, turning to his assistant. "This will make you feel better, but I need you to stay as still as possible while I take out the ventilation tube, all right?" Dr. Oliver tried his best to nod, but even the slightest gesture was enough for the doctor.

Dr. Vanlier took the thick tube into his hand and carefully began to tug it slowly out of Dr. Oliver's throat, a gag escaping him every inch or so of the tube's movement. Once the last of the tubing was free, Dr. Oliver burst into a coughing fit that pained him even more than his withstanding injuries. Throughout the entire process, Kimberly had not released his hand, and she has holding on as tight as ever. Dr. Vanlier pressed two fingers to the side of Dr. Oliver's throat to check his pulse, then proceeded to put his stethoscope to his chest to make sure his breathing was regulated without the ventilator.

After coming back to his senses, Dr. Oliver finally took notice of the soft skin making contact with his own, slowly following the trail of her arm all the way up to her face, the likes of which made his jaw drop. "K-Kimberly…"

"Welcome back, Handsome," she smiled with tear-filled eyes.

"I'll just give you guys some alone time," Dr. Vanlier said with a grin. "I'll come back in about a half hour to check on you."

"Thanks," Jason nodded as the doctor and his intern left the room.

"Kim…" Dr. Oliver began. "What…how…I mean, I don't understand why you're—"

Kimberly cut him off mid-sentence by leaning down and roughly pressing her lips against his. A fire sparked within him that he hadn't felt in years; since the last time they were together before she moved to Florida. Dr. Oliver feverishly deepened the kiss, greedily tangling his fingers in her chestnut locks. Regrettably, they were interrupted by the sound of Jason clearing his throat several times in a row, progressively growing in volume. They reluctantly broke apart only after the third time. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that, _Doctor_ Oliver," Kimberly whispered into his ear in a sultry fashion.

"Not that I don't love to see my best friend and my little sister making out right before my eyes, but we are in a hospital, after all," he remarked sarcastically.

"Jase, I didn't even know you were here," Dr. Oliver stated, putting his hand out for Jason to take.

With a sigh, he obliged him. "I'm sure you didn't," he laughed. "Kim has a way of distracting you."

"You can say that again," Kimberly smirked.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone to get 'reacquainted' with each other. Just remember: we're in a public place, and that doctor of yours is coming back in here soon. I'm gonna give Hayley a call and tell her that you're finally awake," Jason smiled as he turned to leave. "Good to have you back, Tommy. By the way, I swear to God, if you scare us like that again; I'll kill you."

"Thanks, man," Dr. Oliver replied. He then turned his attention back to the beautiful woman standing at his bedside. "I thought you were still in Florida."

"I was until about two weeks ago."

"Why did you come all the way out here?"

"As smart as you are, Tommy, you can be really oblivious sometimes," Kim remarked harshly.

"Pretty sure it's just the morphine kicking in," he smiled innocently.

"Whatever you say, dino boy. Look, I'll just be honest with you, we never kept secrets from each other before, why should we start now?" Kim moved from her place next to the hospital bed and sat next to Dr. Oliver upon it. "You disappeared without a trace, Tommy. That was years ago, and we haven't heard a peep out of you, not even an impersonal letter. I get a call out of nowhere two weeks ago from Jason saying that you're in intensive care here in Reefside, and that you were attacked. What was I supposed to think?" Though she had calmed since his ventilator tube had to be removed, she couldn't hold back the salty tears that crept their way to her eyes once again. "And as an added bonus, I learn that you're a Ranger again! More than that, you were involved in the creation of some of the things you're out there fighting on a daily basis. I was so scared, Tommy…Hayley told Jason and I what happened…what those _things_ did to you…I've never been more worried about you in my life…even more so than back when we were Rangers together…"

"I know," Dr. Oliver replied solemnly, lowering his head. "I'm sorry, Kim, I really am. I know I should have sent some kind of message, but so much has happened since we last talked. I went to that island with Mercer, then this whole Ranger business. I swore I'd never get back into it again, but it just happened. I couldn't just leave my kids out there without help. Besides, the Dino Gems choose people, not just anyone can use one."

"Is that so?" she sniffed.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Come here." Dr. Oliver motioned for Kim to scoot over more, but in her longing to be closer to him, she crawled up next to him and laid down, resting her head on the crook of his right arm so she wouldn't make contact with any of his wounds. "I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, Kim. You know that, right?"

"I know, Tommy, I know." She looked up at him, her eyes still watering, to be met with another passionate kiss; this one much more sensual than their last.

"You know what's funny?" he asked as they broke apart.

"What might that be?"

"Whenever I imagined us meeting again, it turned out quite differently."

"How did you see it going?"

"Well, the first thing you did when you saw me was slap me right across the face. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by your reaction today," he explained with a grin.

"If you weren't in the hospital, I probably would have. I actually thought about it several times after I found out what you'd been doing all this time. You know me all too well, Handsome."

"I always have, Beautiful," he smiled, kissing her again before his pain medication really kicked in, causing him to gradually doze off with Kimberly still in his arms.

* * *

In the late hours of the night, Cain could roam freely around Reefside without the likelihood of being caught or spotted, so he didn't have to resort to traveling along the rooftops. Even if someone did see him, most civilians out at that hour were likely drunks who probably wouldn't notice or even remember his animalistic features.

Cain approached the main hospital building with a somber posture. He could smell that Dr. Oliver had been moved from the second floor ICU to a private room on the eighth. _At least there's some good news_, Cain thought to glanced toward the window that would be his entry point, but just as quickly had to look away, resting his head on the cold wall in an attempt to alleviate the dizziness that rushed over him. With a swift movement, Cain shook it off and proceeded to ascend the building. Within seconds he reached Dr. Oliver's window which he carefully opened in order not to disturb him may he be sleeping. He jumped inside, landing on all fours to reduce the sound level of his impact.

Cain circled to the other side of the bed to sit in the chair adjacent to the seemingly unconscious Dr. Oliver, freed of his ventilator tube, bringing a one-sided smile to Cain's face as he plopped down. He held his head in his hands, massaging his temples in order to relieve his headache, or at least ebb the pain by a small margin. "I barely heard you come in," a hoarse voice remarked from his right.

"Tried to be as quiet as possible. I thought you were sleeping," Cain responded, looking over at Dr. Oliver with a smirk.

"I think I've done enough of that for a while," he chuckled. "Where are the others?"

"At home, I suspect. It's pretty late."

"How late?"

"Around four in the morning."

"Can't sleep?" Dr. Oliver made an attempt to sit up, but loudly groaned in pain as he did so, feeling as if the claw wounds on his side and back would open again even though stitches tightly held them closed.

Cain shook his head. "Hurts like hell, doesn't it?" he commented.

Dr. Oliver clutched his side as he sat up even further, another groan left him. "That's one way of putting it," he grimaced. "Where have you been? Hayley said you stormed off from here a couple weeks ago and has only seen you once since."

He was hesitant to answer, falling silent for several moments. "I took care of something that Hayley wasn't particularly fond of when I told her. Your red friend wanted to punch me in the face, I could sense it."

"You mean Jason? I've never seen him lose his temper so what could you have possibly done to—"

"I killed Zeltrax," he interrupted coldly, his expression nonchalant.

"You're kidding." Cain solemnly shook his head, placing it back into his hands; his vision became blurry the more his head started to throb. "I don't know what to say, Cain, I honestly don't. Other than what the hell were you thinking?"

"Was that supposed to be a rhetorical question with you coming back and saying that I wasn't thinking at all? I admit that going after him out of anger was stupid, but it had to be done. You're in here because of me, Tommy. Because of _him_." Dr. Oliver opened his mouth to protest, but was immediately cut off. "Don't even start. You might not blame me for it, but those things were supposed to be after me, and you _died_ on my account."

Dr. Oliver was hesitant to respond, taken aback by how adamant Cain was about blaming himself for what happened. "Cain, Smitty has had it out for me since day one, he just took advantage of the situation. I can't even begin to imagine what he did to you while you were held captive in Mesogog's lab, much less the fact he's been the cause of _both _your deaths. I'm even surprised at myself for saying this, but I'm not angry with you for ending it."

"How much morphine are they giving you, Ollie?"

"Apparently not enough." He let out a short chuckle, holding his chest as he did so. "I'm serious. I know he wasn't human, Cain. After all the times I've cut him up I would have known if there was flesh under that armor. Besides, you would have smelled it, right?" Cain nodded, a small smile graced his lips at Dr. Oliver's understanding. He figured that Dr. Oliver of all people would be furious with him, but the surprise was a relief. Even if it was just the medication talking, he would enjoy it for as long he could milk it.

All the sounds of Dr. Oliver's room hit Cain at once like a sonic boom direct to his eardrums, increasing the pain of his already agonizing migraine tenfold. It took all Cain had not to collapse out of his chair onto the cold, hospital floor. He held his head with one hand while the other grasped the arm of the chair in a tight grip, the only thing holding him up. This time Dr. Oliver took notice, his voice thick with concern. "Cain, are you all right?"

"Yeah," he said softly, trying to keep the volume of his voice down to a minimum. "Just a headache. That damn heart monitor is in sync with the throbbing inside my skull."

"Well, think of it this way; if my heart stopped beating, the machine would make a louder, even more irritating and constant sound," Dr. Oliver grinned.

Cain gave a quick smile, "I guess you're right."

"You sure that you're okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked in a slightly raised tone, shrugging off the pain as he began to pace around the room.

"You should go home and get some rest, I'll be fine."

"For some odd reason I don't believe that," Cain snarled.

Dr. Oliver sported a wide smile and replied, "This time I mean it. A nurse is supposed to come back around five and administer another dose of morphine and oxycodone."

"Oxys too? They're just loading you up with drugs, aren't they?"

"Looks like it. If it hurts this bad with them, I sure as hell don't want to find out what not taking them is like. Sure, being a Ranger speeds up the healing process a bit, but it doesn't really help the pain."

"Right," Cain concurred as he meandered back over to the window from which he entered.

"Cain, wait, can you do me a favor?" Dr. Oliver asked quickly, catching him with one foot on the windowsill, he nodded in response. "When you get the chance to talk to Hayley in the morning, could you ask her to get a small, metal suitcase that I have locked in the vault downstairs and to bring it here for me, please?"

"Sure thing, Tommy," he weakly smiled. "I should probably ask this before I forget: isn't Kimberly your _ex_-girlfriend?"

"She is."

"Mind explaining why her scent is _all_ over you, then?" he chuckled. Dr. Oliver's face instantly turned a light shade of red and was cut off before he got a chance to explain himself. "You know what, I don't want to know." Without hesitation he leaped out of the window, effortlessly landing on the concrete below. Cain faintly heard Dr. Oliver laughing above him at his comment and with a self-satisfied smile he began his journey back to Hayley's apartment.

After Cain began staying at Hayley's apartment on an almost nightly basis, she had gotten in the habit of leaving a key hidden outside the door so that he wouldn't have to technically break in every time he came home late. The location of the key changed daily for security purposes, in the case that if someone saw Cain retrieve the key, it wouldn't be in the same place for a burglar to take it. The key would be hidden in cliché locations such as under the mat, above the door, or inside a plant next to it; but the placements of the key grew more exigent, the oddest place Cain has ever found the small metal object was inside the call box of the elevator. In that particular instance, he had to wait two passes of the elevator, because another tenant accompanied him, and he couldn't be sifting around in the elevator searching for a key with another person in there. The challenge of finding the key was always encouragement to come home for him among other things, but under all previous circumstances locating it was easy. Hayley made sure that her scent was prominent on the key every time before she hid it by holding it in her hand for just under a minute so Cain could promptly track it down without him getting frustrated and just picking the lock or going through the window.

After sniffing around the sixth floor hallway, Cain located the hidden key lodged under the third step of the stairwell leading down to the fifth floor. After he unlocked the door and placed the key in the bowl on the end table near the door he circumnavigated the house as quietly as possible, assuming that Hayley would be asleep at this hour. His stomach loudly grumbled as he opened the refrigerator, only to be disappointed to find nothing to his liking still in there. Hayley would usually keep the occasional package of ground meat or pork chops in the fridge for him, but since he hadn't returned home for the better part of two weeks, he assumed that she discontinued that habit. Cain was surprised to even find the key to her door still hidden for him.

After admitting defeat to Hayley's refrigerator, he crept toward the bed which he spent so many nights upon, only discovering it to be nothing but a normal couch again. He figured it would make too much noise to return it to that state, so merely the couch would have to suffice. As he was about to sit down, he peered into Hayley's bedroom to find her isolated to one side of the bed, curled into a ball under the covers. Cain wandered over to the side of the bed that Hayley was facing, and leaned down to brush strands of her crimson locks away from her face. She lightly squirmed beneath his touch, but immediately calmed down, unconsciously recognizing it as his. With a one-sided smile on his face, he made his way to the opposite side of the bed. He toed off his boots and slipped under the covers, scooting over to Hayley and putting his arm around her waist, pulling her close. Barely waking up, Hayley instinctively curled into him and interlaced their fingers, pressing a light kiss to Cain's hand. "Welcome home," she whispered.

* * *

Hayley awoke to the sun blasting through her bedroom window, which she didn't remember opening the night before. She groggily flipped over to her other side and found Cain to be gone, though not to her surprise. A single piece of paper was left in his place on the sheets that read:

_Didn't want to wake you when I left since it was so early. Tommy wanted me to ask you to retrieve a small, metal suitcase from his vault downstairs in the lab and to bring it to him at the hospital today. I would have done it myself to save you the trouble, but I'm sure there's a ridiculous amount of security on the damn thing that I really don't want to deal with. If you need me, I'll be in the city today, just call me by name, I'll hear you. That phone is more trouble than it's worth, if you ask me. Thanks._

_ -Cain_

Hayley sighed and got ready for the day, slightly aggravated that she would have to make an extra trip to Dr. Oliver's lab and back to the city just to give him something from the vault. With gas prices as high as they were, she would have to do extremely well at the Cyberspace this week just to make up for the trip. _I know it's a secret lab and all_, Hayley thought to herself, _but does he really have to live so damn far away? Twenty miles outside of any civilization is pushing it, Tommy. I mean, is it really that urgent?_ She supposed that he wouldn't have asked Cain to tell her if it wasn't.

Once dressed, Hayley made her way to the kitchen to just get a granola bar out of her cupboard for breakfast, but instead she found another note from Cain on the cabinet door.

_P.S. I know that you usually skimp out on breakfast, or just eat one of those health bars, so I took the liberty of making you a real breakfast. It's in the warming drawer of your oven, and yes, I do expect you to eat it. Tommy has nothing better to do, he can wait an extra twenty minutes or so while you eat._

_ -Cain_

_ P.S.S. Really, no meat in the house? None at all?_

After reading the last words of the note, Hayley rolled her eyes and leaned down to open said warming drawer. She'd never used it before, though she was glad that someone actually found a use for it. Hayley pulled it open to be met with a pleasant wave of smells emanating from the compartment. Inside, she found a plate that had a small stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and toast upon it. "You're too much, Cain," Hayley said aloud. "I'm sure your wife was spoiled rotten whenever you were actually home."

Hayley couldn't tell whether Cain's cooking was extremely delicious, or if she'd just been neglecting the finer things in life like a decent meal. Recently, she'd gotten into Dr. Oliver's terrible habit of eating out or just ordering in most nights. Once finished with her meal, she placed her used plate and silverware into the dishwasher, grabbed her purse, and went down to her car. After a forty-five minute drive, she finally reached Dr. Oliver's home and soon after, his lab.

The vault in question was located in a room off to the side of the main area, one that she doubted the other Rangers even knew existed. Punching in the code necessary to open the thick steel door, she quickly opened the vault to reveal two briefcases. One she knew to contain the weapon David had created; the other she didn't recognize, nor had she noticed it there before. It was similar to David's, but it was slightly larger and had the Dino Thunder insignia engraved onto the lid of it.

Being curious, she attempted to open the box, but it was sealed shut. It had no visible locks on the outside; however, there was something resembling a speaker toward the middle of the case with a small LED light next to it. _Voice activated lock…what are you hiding in here, Tommy?_

With some hesitation, she threw the metal case into the passenger's seat of her SUV and headed back to town in order to give Dr. Oliver what he needed. No doubt she would question him thoroughly about the box's contents. Once there after the long drive, she followed the receptionist's simple directions to Dr. Oliver's new room on the eighth floor. The elevator ride seemed to drag on forever, only giving her more time to think about the hundreds of possibilities of what could be in the box that he kept secret from her and why he needed it now, in the hospital no less. Hayley concluded that it had to be Ranger related, which made it even more puzzling as to why he wanted whatever it is delivered to his hospital room. Dr. Oliver wouldn't be able to use it in his room, even if he was in any condition to.

As instructed, Hayley took an immediate right out of the elevator and followed the numbers down the hallway until she reached 802, where Dr. Oliver resided. She knocked on the door three times; seconds later, a warm, familiar voice invited her in from the other side. Hayley opened the door to find Dr. Oliver sitting calmly in his bed eating the mediocre breakfast that the hospital provided for him. He looked up with his trademark smile as she entered the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Morning," he managed to get out between bites of his pancakes.

Hayley could never really stay angry at Dr. Oliver for long; knowing that he was doing well was enough of a relief for her to put aside what she found this morning and just be grateful. "Good morning to you too, Tommy," she greeted with a sigh. "Good to see that you're able to eat."

"Yeah. Two weeks on fluids just wasn't doing it for me," he smiled.

Hayley scoffed. "Only you could be so nonchalant about this whole thing."

"I consider it a viable skill." Dr. Oliver finally took notice of the metal case Hayley was carrying after he pushed his now empty plate aside, then looked to her once again. "Cain didn't come with you?" he asked, as if he expected him to, which seemed odd to Hayley.

"No," she responded, narrowing her gaze. "He left early this morning and left me a note relaying your message. He said he'd be in town though if I needed him. Why do you ask?"

"Can you please call him here?"

"Not until you tell me what's going on, Tommy," Hayley said sternly, crossing her arms across her chest. "What's in this case that you want to keep such a secret from me?"

"Please, Hayley, can you just get him here?" Dr. Oliver replied solemnly, looking Hayley directly in the eye.

"Fine," she spat out as she moved to open the window to Dr. Oliver's room. "Cain!"

On the roof of the Bank of America building once again, sat Cain, enjoying his usual brew. This had become a weekly ritual since starting the tradition several weeks ago when Dr. Oliver had joined him. While taking a drink, his ears perked up at Hayley calling his name, a hint of anger in her voice. "What did I do now?" he muttered as he jumped down to the adjacent building, tracing her scent to the hospital.

"He should be on his way. Why do you need him here?"

Dr. Oliver sighed, glancing toward the box, then up at Hayley. "Because what's in the case is meant for him, not me."

"I don't understand."

"You'll see when he gets here, trust me."

Cain found it best to travel via rooftop on account of the fact that it was the middle of the day, and seeing a man crawl eight stories up the side of a building would be a little too conspicuous. With the hospital being only ten stories high, he would only have to crawl down two stories instead of eight up. Moments later he landed on the hospital roof on all fours after leaping from the building next to it that was five stories taller. Cain glanced over the edge of the building to make sure no one was looking, then he slid down, catching himself on Dr. Oliver's window. "What's going on?" Cain questioned as he slid in through the open window, looking over in Hayley's direction.

"I have no idea," she responded. "Whatever it is, it has to deal with you and this box."

"The one I said that he wanted in the note that I left?"

"The very one."

"What's in the case, Tommy?" Cain asked around a snarl, finally acknowledging his presence and coming to the realization that he was the source of Hayley's frustration.

Dr. Oliver sighed, still wondering how he would even begin to explain himself. At least now he was able to sit almost fully upright without too much discomfort. He pushed away his table that only held his food scraps on a plastic plate wish a sigh, slightly lowering his head."Look, I'm not going to be able to fight for a while longer, and it's already been too long for me to be out, especially with Mesogog's advances becoming more problematic. It's by some miracle that nothing too serious has happened since I've been in here," he began, giving Cain a stern look.

"What are you getting at?" he asked.

Dr. Oliver motioned for Hayley to hand over the case in her hands and she reluctantly did so with a concerned expression. He held the case about a foot away from his face, opening his mouth to speak into it. "Aequitas," he uttered in a steady tone. Upon Dr. Oliver's command, the metal case unlocked and opened; its contents weren't visible to Cain, but he knew whatever was inside, it was made of some sort of metal, likely man-made, though it was one he didn't recognize.

Hayley moved to her right in order to see inside the box; her eyes instantaneously widened at the sight of its contents. "No…Tommy, you didn't…" she said shakily, though she was progressively turning almost as red as her hair color out of frustration. "This is what you were hiding from me? How did you even make this without my help? How could you do something this idiotic?" she yelled.

"Hayley, what's wrong?" Cain asked, concerned.

"It's another morpher," she explained with disdain. "_Your_ morpher."

"Mine? That's not possible. My gem can't be accessed like the others' can. Besides, how do you know that's mine, anyway?"

Hayley took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. She was contemplating physically harming Dr. Oliver for creating the morpher behind her back. "Tommy said what was in the case was meant solely for you."

Cain looked back down at Dr. Oliver, who handed him a metal bracelet just like the other Rangers', though this time, an amber-colored stone was encased inside of it. He ran his finger over the stone, surprised by its origin. "Tommy, this is pure amber, how'd you get this?"

"A few months before you arrived with us, when Trent was under the White Dino Gem's control, he fossilized me in amber in order to keep me quiet about his identity," Dr. Oliver explained, though he was met by Cain's hearty laughter. "Funny, is it?"

"Incredibly," he chuckled. "Please tell me that you see the irony in that."

Dr. Oliver let out a deep sigh. "Trust me, it's hard to miss. I laughed about it maybe a month or so after I was broken out. What you're holding is a small fragment from that incident. The purpose of the amber, at least in your case, is to work as a synthesizing agent for your gem so the morpher can be powered up."

"You couldn't have built this morpher on your own, especially one involving components this complicated." Hayley cut in angrily. "Who helped you?"

"Take a wild guess," he smirked. "How many people can you honestly think of that would be able to possibly build a morpher?"

"I can think of two right off the bat: Billy and David," Hayley began, still racking her brain for others with the ability to assist Dr. Oliver. "Billy's too far away to help with a project like this, and you specifically told David that you didn't want him involved in all this; that he was too young."

"Things change," he muttered. "_Circumstances_ change."

"So, it was David! He's just a kid, Tommy!"

"An abnormally brilliant one, let me assure you."

Hayley scoffed, insulted. "You say that like I don't know he's a genius well beyond his years. He's almost to Cain's level when it comes to Chemistry and he's only a freshman!"

"Who the hell is this kid?" Cain inquired, having no idea what either of the two were talking about for the last couple minutes, but when his name was mentioned, his attention came back to the conversation.

"You haven't even been listening, have you?" Hayley snarled, her gaze burning right through Cain, which she immediately turned back to Dr. Oliver. "He's fourteen for Christ's sake, Tommy. Fourteen!"

"I was fourteen..." he replied somberly, his deep brown eyes fixed on her.

"That's different, and you know it. You didn't have a choice in the matter..."

"And David does," Dr. Oliver interrupted, clearing his throat. "And he chose this."

"If I remember correctly, last time you mentioned David, you told him to stay out of it after he figured out you were a Ranger."

"I did, but he's very stubborn, that boy. Stubborn enough to show up down in the lab about a couple weeks before Cain came back," he smiled. "Just couldn't take it anymore, apparently."

"How did he get down there?"

"He came over one day, door was open as always, so he just headed in. He went through the house looking for me until he got to my office. The lab entrance was still open since you left a few minutes prior."

"Unbelievable..." Hayley muttered, bitterness in her tone. "When did you build the morpher, then? Couldn't have been from in here. It's like you knew something was going to happen where a replacement would be needed."

"I never said anything about a replacement, Hayley," he reassured. "When Cain showed up in the lab, back from the dead no less, I took it as a sign. I knew I wanted to make him a Ranger since he came back, I was just waiting for the opportune moment to give him the morpher. Seems like impeccable timing, if you ask me..."

"You would trust me with that, even after all that I've done? Tommy, I don't think I can—"

"Of course I would," Dr. Oliver said with a warm smile that quickly faded. "Believe it or not, Cain, I was once in similar shoes as you were. Serving as a Ranger on the side of good was the best thing that ever happened to me, especially after being under Rita's control."

"Who's Rita?"

"The Mesogog of my teenage years; well, at least one of them. Much more annoying though. Her voice alone made me feel as if my ears were bleeding."

Cain chuckled. "Having personally felt that sensation, let me tell you that no one's voice other than Kira's could do that."

"Right," Dr. Oliver smiled.

"You know, Ollie, I gotta tell ya; I'm not a fan of the whole spandex thing..."

"I don't think that's going to be an issue," he deeply laughed, groaning as it came to an end.

"Really now?"

"Mhm," Dr. Oliver concurred, flashing Cain a small smile of encouragement. "The morpher might have an adverse effect at first," he warned. "Because of your gem's location, the process of the amber synthesizing and drawing the power to it may be slightly painful."

Cain nodded, hesitant at first to put the metal bracelet on his left wrist, his mind going a mile a minute thinking of the consequences. He took a deep breath and threw caution to the wind; this was his responsibility now, his duty to Dr. Oliver. Any pain it could possibly cause was irrelevant. _Just like the Marines all over again_, he thought to himself with a slight chuckle. Cain slowly slipped the cold, metal piece onto his arm, relieved for nothing to have happened; he was in enough pain as it is, his head felt as if it was on the verge of implosion. He felt his left arm begin to unconsciously move; it quickly evolved from small tremors to violent shakes. A sudden, painful shock shot through his arm, causing him to step back with a groan; his other hand held his left in an attempt to stop the shaking. No sooner though, a shock just like the previous one shot through Cain's entire body. He doubled over and collapsed to his knees immediately upon the sensation; his hands were barely capable of holding him up. The pain only worsened as he felt as if his blood was boiling all throughout his body. The gem shards within his veins were moving erratically, bashing against the inner walls of his circulatory system. Cain clenched his jaw as tightly as possible to hold back a roar of agony, but a low growl still left him through gritted teeth.

Hayley rushed to Cain's side as soon as she saw him hit the floor after locking the door to Dr. Oliver's room. An unexpected visit from a nurse or doctor would only make matters worse. Cain was struggling to breathe right before her eyes and was constantly shaking. Sweat began to roll down his face from fighting the pain. Another wave of agony hit him, almost twice as painful as the last. Cain's arms immediate gave out, causing him to collapse and roll onto his back. His left arm still clung close to his body, the other clawed deep into the floor below. A silent roar left Cain as he arched his back, yet another wave hitting him like a freight train. Hayley tried to maintain as little physical contact as possible, but she was near constantly uttering soothing words to Cain in a gentle tone. Her words received no response from him though, Cain's entire world was enveloped in pain; nothing else could possibly get through.

"Tommy, do something!" Hayley desperately shouted.

"I can't…I'm sorry," he responded with a sigh. "We just have to let this play out."

"Can't we just take the bracelet off? I'm pretty sure this goes beyond 'slightly painful'."

"No. If we interrupt the process now, it might kill him." Dr. Oliver heard a muted gasp, another progressively painful wave had hit Cain once again. He was sure Cain was trying to keep quiet because of where they were, but there was only so much he could hold back. "Look, I know it's hard to see him like this, but it'll be over soon, I promise."

"You can't promise that, Tommy, so stop bullshitting me." Both Hayley and Dr. Oliver fell silent, but their eye contact didn't break. Hayley only looked away when another groan was heard from Cain's direction. His back arched again, his right hand balled into a tight fist now, rather than delving into the tiled floor.

The gem shards in Cain's bloodstream threatened to claw their way out in a desperate attempt to reach the amber fragment in the metal bracelet clasped around his wrist. With what little energy and concentration he could muster, Cain rolled onto his side and tried to focus on merely letting the power itself into the fragment, rather than the gem. Several groans left him in his attempt, but after a few moments, the pain that plagued Cain's entire body started to ebb, granting him the ability to roll back onto his stomach and perch himself up onto his knees.

"Cain…Cain, are you all right?" Hayley asked as she began to rub his back. He merely shook his head in response. His lungs still struggled to acquire the oxygen necessary to breathe normally, and his heart beat at least twice as fast as usual. To Hayley's surprise, Cain reached his right hand up to the railing of Dr. Oliver's bed and pulled himself up, wincing as he did so. His feet almost gave out from under him, but he was able to keep himself steady by some miracle. With slight hesitance, Cain unbent his left arm and gripped the railing just as his other hand did. Both Hayley and Dr. Oliver looked down to discover that the amber fragment held within the bracelet was glowing. They quickly turned their attention to Cain who was still trying to catch his breath, and he had not yet opened his eyes or spoke. "Cain, please, look at me," Hayley begged.

His head was lowered, but his eyes shot open; they glowed just as bright as the fragment on his wrist. Cain glanced over to Hayley who gasped upon seeing the drastic change in his eye color. He was still shaking, reeling from the pain that overcame his entire body. Hayley let out a deep sigh, laying her hand atop of Cain's in an attempt to calm him down. Cain quickly snapped his head back to its original position and took a deep breath, opening his eyes to reveal the irises to be brown once again.

"That was a real shitty warning you gave there, Ollie," Cain said around a growl, his brow drenched in a cold sweat.

"I'm sorry, Cain. I had no idea your reaction would be this severe." Dr. Oliver paused, looking Cain over. His shakes were finally starting to die down. "How do you feel?"

"Like my veins are on fire, but…there's something else too."

"What do you mean?" Hayley cut in.

"I don't know how to describe it, it's just something else. I…I actually feel better. Usually, after something like what just happened, the effects wouldn't wear off so quickly." Cain gave a small smile before continuing. "I'd probably still be on the floor in most cases."

"It seems as if the power you had was never properly tapped into," Dr. Oliver explained. "Mesogog didn't exactly take any precautions when experimenting with your gem."

"Right," Cain nodded, removing himself from the conversation and back into his own thoughts.

"Here," Dr. Oliver said as he pulled a small object out of the suitcase still on his lap, then presented it for Cain to take.

He took it slowly, twirling the thin, metal object around his fingers while trying to figure out its purpose. "A key?" Cain asked.

"Yes, a key. You've never seen me morph before, have you, Cain?"

Cain chuckled. "In all honesty, Tommy, I've never really cared enough before to pay attention. No offense."

"None taken," Dr. Oliver laughed. "The reason your morpher is like mine is because mine was solely the one David truly had to go off of. Sure, he had the blueprints for the others, but mine was the only one available for him to analyze thoroughly."

"I see. So…how does this work? I just say that Dino Thunder thing I always hear the others shout?"

"Basically. The verbal call identifies the user so if the morpher falls into the wrong hands, it can't be activated."

"Let me guess, you thought it up?"

"From all my years' experience, let me tell you that it's honestly one of the better ones I've come up with."

"I'm sure that's saying something," Cain muttered. "How do you suggest I tell the others? I'd rather not, but if you really want them to know, I'd at least want to drag it out a bit."

"They'll find out in time, I suppose. Besides, I doubt you'd morph unless it was _absolutely_ necessary. For now, you're merely their leader in battle and their trainer." Cain simply nodded. "I'd have it no other way, Captain." For a moment, Cain was slightly taken back by Dr. Oliver calling him by his official rank, and narrowed his gaze in confusion. "What?"

"You've never called me that before," Cain shrugged. "Just odd is all. You've never even called me by my first name, much less that."

"Well, that is still your rank, isn't it?"

"More or less."

"I'd say more now," Dr. Oliver smiled. "Look, I know you're itching to get out of here, so let me tell you this before you leave: The Rangers have been idle in their training for over two weeks now. Don't hold back, all right?"

Cain scoffed at the very thought of it. "What gave you the impression that I would go easy on them, Tommy?"

"I thought you may have considered it, if even for a second. Obviously not."

"You should have seen me when I was training my squad," Cain smirked. "Trust me, I never hold anything back when it comes to something like that. If anything, I'd say you were soft with them, Tommy."

"Compared to the Marines, yeah, I'd say so," he smiled.

Cain gave a quarter of a smile, then made his way over to the window, slowly breaking his connection to Hayley, but he felt her tug on his forearm as soon as their hands were no longer touching.

"Cain, do you find it wise to be jumping out of windows and fighting in your condition?"

"I'm fine, Hayley. Besides, the kids are still in school. They won't even be ready for a few hours, and they still have to drive out to Tommy's place." Cain could tell his argument wasn't getting through, Hayley's expression hadn't changed since he collapsed onto the ground moments before. Her eyes were full of fear, anger, and worry. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, you can drive me back to the lab yourself so I don't have to jump down eight stories. Once there, you can run any test you want, okay?" Hayley reluctantly nodded and looked up at Cain, her eyes still had doubt floating around in them. Cain leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips in reassurance and as an attempt to calm her. She was the first to pull away, resting her head against Cain's chest. "Come on, let's go," he encouraged, directing her out of the room before whispering in her ear, "Go down to the car, I'll be right behind you." Hayley unlocked the door to the ward and left without a word.

Cain let out a sigh, turning his attention back toward Dr. Oliver. "She's furious with you, Ollie. Better be careful the next time you talk to her. I have a feeling Hayley's wrath is like no other."

"Oh, I'm aware, trust me. She's been pissed at me several times over the years, but I've never kept something like this from her before."

"Then why did you?"

"Because of you, actually. On account of her connection to you, I figured she couldn't view the situation objectively. She was completely opposed to making you a Ranger."

Cain just laughed at Dr. Oliver. "You better think of a different explanation, Tommy," he responded with a smile. "She might just hit you for that one."

"It's the truth though."

"It may be, but I suggest you come up with something better by the next time you see her. I wouldn't want to see you back in intensive care." Cain chuckled as he left Dr. Oliver's room, closing the door behind him.

Dr. Oliver just sighed at Cain's comment, leaning back into his bed, staring at the ceiling. The metal case still sat in his lap which he discarded to the adjacent chair in the room. _I hate when she's mad at me_, he thought to himself, dreading their next meeting.

* * *

Cain and Hayley rode in her car in absolute silence. On occasion, Cain would look over in her direction, but she didn't return the gesture. Her eyes never left the road, not even for a second, and her hands clung to the steering wheel with all her might. Most of the time, Cain could read Hayley very well, but the mix of feelings emanating from her confused him. He didn't ask questions as she had on so many occasions. Although, Hayley knew when not to push. She still hadn't asked about the Zeltrax incident; what really happened anyway.

As soon as she pulled into Dr. Oliver's driveway, Hayley practically jumped out of her vehicle and ran into the house, leaving Cain behind in the passenger's seat. With a sigh, he promptly exited the car to go after her, finding her already down in the lab pacing. While rushing down the stairs, Cain could hear Kimberly attempting to talk Hayley down and asked what was wrong, but she got no response. Cain leaped across the room and landed in front of Hayley, stopping her in her tracks. She gasped at his sudden appearance, giving him a stern look for scaring her. "Why…" Cain heard her whisper, but only just, as if she was mouthing it.

"Why what?" he asked, taking a step closer.

"Why is it always you? Why do you have to suffer more than the others? Why did he have to put you through this? Why did he make you a Ranger, damn it?" Hayley was nearly yelling at that point, her face turned red from anger. "I told him not to, when you came back…I said it would be too dangerous…that you might not survive the power transfer process…he said that he wouldn't…"

"Hayley," Cain called as she started to cry, "I'm fine, I'm right here."

"No, you're not!" she shouted. Cain slowly put his arms around Hayley and she naturally curled into him, crying into his chest. "I'm aware you can hide pain well, but I've known you long enough to realize when you're seriously hurt. You said you were fine before, but you weren't…you never are…not really…"

Cain sighed, stroking Hayley's hair in an attempt to calm her. He couldn't deny what she said; lately all he felt was pain and today had been no different. No doubt Hayley would have noticed his headaches worsening if he had been around more, along with the wound he sustained from his battle with Zeltrax. For a moment, the pair had forgotten that Kim was even still there until she spoke up. "All right, can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Looking down at Hayley, Cain released his arms and she did the same so he could explain himself. He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the metal bracelet that encased the amber fragment. "Tommy made this morpher for me to temporarily take his place in battle, and to take on his responsibilities here as well. When the morpher bonded with me, because of special circumstances, it was…agonizing to say the least." Cain took a deep breath upon seeing Kim's confusion. "Look, a lot of things have happened to me since I got involved in this whole mess with the Rangers, most of it has bitten me in the ass, this whole becoming a Ranger deal not being an exception. From being tortured all the way to even dying to protect the others, I've managed to get into all of it. Hayley's always been the one there to help me, even when I didn't want it. She took my side even when Tommy wouldn't," he continued. "The way we affect each other scares the hell out of me."

"Cain, is that true?" Hayley sniffled, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

He stiffly nodded. "I haven't felt this way since…" Cain began to trail off, but muttered, "Sam."

"You've never told me her name before."

"I know." Hayley placed her hand on Cain's arm; she could feel every muscle in it tense up when he mentioned his wife, but she hadn't expected him not to react in some way. He would usually just fall silent; she was thankful that he at least spoke. She leaned up and pressed her lips softly against his; neither of them deepened the kiss, but merely enjoyed their moment. Cain was first to break away with a deep breath, resting his forehead against hers.

"You two are adorable," Kim remarked coyly, only to receive a low growl in response from Cain and a stern look. "Don't give me that, you know it's true." Cain rolled his eyes as he took a step back from Hayley after whispering something into her ear that Kim couldn't pick up. He then turned around and quickly shot up the stairs. The two remaining women could faintly hear the front door close moments later. "Where'd he run off to?"

"He said he needed to take a walk to clear his head before the Rangers get here," Hayley replied.

"I don't buy it," Kimberly said with a smile. "What's really up with him?"

"Well, it's not like what I said isn't true; I just know him well enough to know that's part of the reason that he left."

"Okay, so why exactly did he leave?"

"It's complicated, but a big part of it was the fact that he hates the subject of any kind of relationship being brought up, especially his own, past or present."

"Oh, I didn't know. I'm guessing it has to do with some girl named Sam?"

"It does, very much so. He also smelled Jason coming from a couple miles away. That's what he actually told me."

"How does he do that? I knew his hearing was abnormally good, but I didn't know he could smell things like that too."

Hayley nodded. "Yeah, he never ceases to amaze me with those kind of things. Sometimes I forget what Cain's capable of until he mentions it. He's told me before that he sees differently than we do as well, but he's never gone into detail about it."

"So…how do you think Jason is going to react when he finds out that Tommy made Cain a Ranger?" asked Kim, quickly changing the subject. "From what I can tell, Cain hates Jason, and it seems as if the feeling is mutual."

"If I've learned anything over the years of being with Tommy, it's that Jason has always been his best friend, his brother. The bond of trust that they have far exceeds anything I've ever witnessed. If Jason truly shares that bond with Tommy, then he won't question his decision."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kim responded with a small smile.

"Just in case though, we shouldn't tell him just yet. In fact, we should probably pass that responsibility onto Tommy himself." Kim laughed and nodded in response, then headed toward the stairs when she heard the familiar roar of Jason's muscle car in the background.

"Hey guys," Jason greeted as he descended the stairs, entering the lab. "How's Tommy doing?"

"He's better," Hayley immediately responded. "He's back to eating solid foods," she smiled.

Jason laughed. "Yeah, that's good. When are the others coming back? I figured with Tommy still in the hospital, I'd spar with them a little bit to keep them on their toes." Kimberly and Hayley exchanged quick glances when the subject of the Rangers' training came up that Jason immediately picked up on. "What?" he asked hastily.

"Well," Kim began, "it seems Tommy has passed on that responsibility to Cain, Rex."

"You're kidding, right? How could he trust that _thing_ to train his kids?"

"Hey!" Hayley snapped, stepping forward, only to stop inches away from Jason. "That _man_ is an extraordinary fighter, up to par with both you and Tommy. In fact, I wouldn't doubt it if he could kick your ass. Actually, I _know_ he could. Cain has seen more combat than both you and Tommy combined. So, tell me, Red, how is he _not_ qualified to train the Rangers?"

Jason immediately fell silent to collect himself, but moments later decided to speak up. "Someone like him—"

Hayley scoffed to interrupt him, forcefully poking two of her fingers into his chest. "Oh, don't you even start with that, Jason. You've been helped by so many beings that weren't human that I can't even begin to count them all!"

"He's different…" Jason said stiffly.

"Yeah? How's that?"

"None of the other otherworldly beings that have helped me in the past have tried to kill their own teammates!" he shouted.

"How do you know about that?" Hayley gasped.

"Conner told me." Jason scowled, his eyes still locked onto Hayley. "He said you keep defending him by saying it isn't Cain's fault, but you know what? He should learn to control whatever's wrong with him."

"You're a real hypocrite, you know that, Jase?" Kimberly cut in.

"Is that so?" he snarled. "You're defending him now?"

"Yeah! Tommy almost killed all of us back when we first met him. He put most of us in the hospital, but you gave everything you had to help him! How is that any different from what Cain did?" Jason hadn't recalled a time when Kimberly was this angry with him. Apparently he had never screwed up this badly was the conclusion that he came to. "You've seen him, Jason, you've met him. You've seen how he is with Hayley, and probably the others too. You and Conner are just too thick to understand what kind of guy he really is! I admit he's been kind of an ass to you, but he probably sensed your hatred towards him like a wolf smells fear. With his senses, I really wouldn't doubt it. Fuckin' Reds…" she trailed off as she made her way up the stairs.

Hayley followed close behind, but paused just as she was about to climb the steps to the first floor and whipped back around to look at Jason. "You know what? You may not trust Cain, but Tommy sure as hell does. I was going to let him inform you of this, but hell, I'll tell you just to prove my point. Tommy made him a _Ranger_ and appointed him leader until he gets back on his feet. Cain was a captain in the Marines who led the Special Ops team in the field. He's more than capable of leading a bunch of teenagers in battle and training them. He'll be doing so in the woods later on. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results, and maybe…just maybe, you'll change your mind about him." Not even a second after finishing her statement, she bolted up the stairs to join Kimberly, leaving Jason in silence in the lab.


End file.
